


Pretty Vile Things

by VienneseDumplings



Series: People like Us [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Katakuri is literally just in one chapter, King is the main boi, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut, Violence, huehuehue, no bdsm, ok he is in Chapter 6, perverted but cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VienneseDumplings/pseuds/VienneseDumplings
Summary: ‘ Do you want to fuck me? ’  Deer Shang asked, and King the wildfire nearly choked on his coffee.‘ No.’ King replied.‘ How unfortunate.’ She sighed as she leaned against the balcony. ‘ I would fuck me.’
Relationships: Charlotte Katakuri/Original Female Character(s), King the Wildfire/Original Female Character(s) - Relationship
Series: People like Us [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922200
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34





	1. The Slaughterhouse

**Author's Note:**

> (1) Putting this as a series next to my other fiction so some poor soul might stumble upon this by clicking the wrong button. HA i aM vErY SmOrT ( ͡> ͜ʖ ͡o)
> 
> (2) Feel like King is secretly a stubborn soft boy so Imma writes him as a stubborn soft boi.
> 
> (3) I edit it and re-edit it after posting it all the time, so I advise you to read it probably after a few hours of a new chapter ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)

King came to know Deer Shang due to a sheer drug accident. 

Romantics would call it destiny, but King is far away from being romantic or even empathetic, therefore he calls it statistically probable.  
  
You see, he was on his way to torture someone, and that someone happened to be Deer Shang.  
  
Talk about a _meant to be_.  
  
As a legit business on paper, the Hyakujuu is a weaponry trading company with a structured balance sheet and various trading ports dotted around the coast.On the flip side of the business bureau endorsed paper, however, is a mafia powerhouse dominating the drug trade market. With its active lobbying and political ties, the Hyakujuu has strong legal protection and a well-feared security team.To maintain their competition, the Hyakujuu recruits rivals as associates and let them share their logistics, protections, and security; in return, the gangs would pledge their loyalty and pay a hefty fee for their transactions.  
  
Even mafias need a business model.   
  
As the head of security, King is the one responsible for information contraction, security pressure, and organisation protection. King particularly enjoys Information contraction — an elegant way to say torture — which is regularly conducted in cargo 45, a red cargo tucked in the middle of the East Port. Ultra soundproofed with close proximity to direct disposal (tie-up in chicken wire to make sure the fish can digest the corpse efficiently),cargo 45 is known as the slaughterhouse, and there are rumors that it is severely haunted: They said that the Crane Brothers, killed by King few years ago, were still haunting around isles 1F to 2D. Or Rocco Prosecco, a former Italian mobster who attempted to traffic sex workers in his port, shoot fire near isle 8K every night at precisely 3:30 am. Even though King personally killed each of them, he was not particularly affected by those stories. After all, if he is not afraid of them when they were still alive, he fails to understand how could he possibly be frightened when they were dead.   
  
King loves his job ( a bit too much, according to his ex-girlfriend), but he hates mundane, nonrewarding torture. The most fascinating thing about torture is the scream, the pain, and the information extracted by the end of a session.Therefore, King was not particularly excited when he heard that he has to torture some drug makers on that particular day.According to his report, On Air, their subordinates who dominates the opioids market,have captured the person that helped the rival Wanoians to develop a superior opioid with higher purity, which disrupted the market and hurt On Air’s payment for the term.  
  
And whenever it affects payment, the Hyakujuu kicks in.  
  
King, ever a supporter of the Hayekian school of thought, think it is a nonsense to torture some drugmaker for anti-competition purpose. It is their subordinates that fail to compete in the market; if anything, it highlights their incompetence rather than a need for torture. And for personal reasons he finds torturing drug-addled mind tedious: their scream would be wobbly and they would pass out half the time.   
  
But it is his work, and King has to do his job whether he likes it or not.  
  
Thinking of the ancient torture device that waits for him in his apartment, King opened the cargo door with an initial disinterest, but his eyes lightened as soon as he saw the target of the night.  
  
‘ Good evening.’ The figure tied to a chair greeted, her voice epicene and accent crisps.Seems to be in her mid-twenties, the girl is wearing a Kanoian male garment with a silk cap, her disguise passable for an untrained layman, but definitely not good enough to fool an avid torturer. For one, her feature is too symmetrical and pleasant to be a drug-addled male:alabaster skin that is almost transparent under the fluorescent light, a pair of large fox eyes that were way too analytical for a semi-functional brain, even the dark circle under her eyes made her a cursed beauty rather than a doomed druggie. The only masculine feature that is mildly convincing is the pair of prominent eyebrows, which added a dash of haughtiness to an otherwise regal face.  
  
Most definitely a Kanoian female, least likely to be a male drug addict.  
  
 _Damn, she is beautiful._  
  
King did not respond to the greetings. Normally he would greet back for he has immaculate manners ( he would even apologize if he touches his killing victim in an inappropriate area), but he found his voice lost and his tongue-tied. Always been rather laconic, Jack took it as him being his usual self rather than the rare chance of King being dumb-struck, or, as some might say, love at first sight, a poetic illusion for exceptional physical attraction.   
  
‘ He is the one who developed the pure opioids, his name is Deer Shang.’ Jack said as he gave the information document to King. ‘ Apparently, he is a doctor.’  
  
‘ It’s a girl, you idiot.’ King retorted, and his eye caught a smile peeping from Deer’s lips.  
  
‘ And a toxicologist. ’ She clarified, and King dutifully jotted it down.  
  
He had heard of her name before, somewhere else, but he cannot quite figure out from where.  
  
 _Deer Shang_ , a Kanoian name with a foreign ring. _Deer, sounds like Dear. Dear deer._

‘ You went to Oxton.’ King commented as he looked at the fact sheet stipulated in the report. He never quite expected a drugmaker to went to an elite school, nor does he expect an elite doctor to become a drugmaker.‘ And you were in a research project for Vegapunk laboratory.’

‘ Top ten of my class before I was demerited for seducing a nun.’Deer Shang replied, her tone inappropriately lordly rather than frightened.King shot her a judgemental gaze as she mentioned the nun part — he has no interest in her romantic story — and he continued his questioning or interview as this torture session seems to have turned to be.  
  
‘ Why did you become involved with this business? ‘ King asked. He is slightly curious just by the glance of her background.   
  
‘ Oh, I was involuntarily dragged into this. ’ She paused briefly. ‘ Involuntarily dragged by the sweet temptation of money.’  
  
The answer was so ridiculous that King nearly rewarded her with a half chuckle. But to maintain his image of being a stoic, stern individual, he kept his face straight and squatted down to look at Deer closely. She looks nothing like the people King has seen before: there is a flair about her that makes her coruscating, even in lifeless a place called the slaughterhouse.  
  
‘ You have interfered with the On-Air mafia, our underlings, so I will tell you what we are going to do to you.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘ We will punch you, twist you, drill you, skin you, and destroy you. ‘  
  
‘ Sounds like my ultimate wet dream if it is you who do the honour.’ Deer replied with a deadpan.  
  
King once again did not reply to her jape. He chooses to stay wordless most of the time so people can never quite guess what he is thinking; he has learned this trait since young, and people tend to either be too confused to communicate or too threatened to maintain the conversation, both way a win for the quiet King.  
  
 _Hide your emotion._ He told himself, even though he found her wit quite entertaining and her courage somehow admirable.  
  
‘ Should I start, Big brother?’ Jack asked as he took out the screw lying on the operation table. King paused and looked at the report again: this is not some random druggie. In fact, this is the white whale that Hyakujuu needs. Their drug production is too heavily outsourced, and their doctor has just retired (a surprising grandfather like a figure from Kano).   
  
Deer Shang is the perfect person for their gap.  
  
‘ Wait.’King ordered and Jack stopped,his eyes also looking at Deer curiously like some sort of chimpanzee. And to be frank, Jack probably possesses an IQ that is similar or lower than an average chimpanzee.  
  
‘ You have worked for the World Government before — what did you do for them?’ King asked. It is not every day the World Government would outsource their things for a random third party, and Deer Shang must have something that made them reach out to her. 

‘ NCH-9, a drug sold to Kano.’ She tilted her head for a while, the brown eyes lightened with an intellectual beam as if she has caught the thread that could save her life. ‘ I can help you to develop drugs as well.’  
  
 _Clever. She knows what is her strength and that is what we need._  
  
‘ Can you do synthetic Devil Fruit?’ Cutting to the chase, King asked. 

‘ Re-developing synthetic DF takes too much time, it is more efficient to complete SMILE development, particularly how to deal with SAD. ’ She said as she wiggled her legs, the robe seems to irritated her skin enough to leave a dash of red on her ankles. ‘ I know Hyakujuu has access to the formula, and I can complete it.’  
  
She smiled, _she knows she can wiggle out from this like a sly weasel._  
  
‘ Big brother, Doffy will get mad if he knows it.’ Jack commented.  
  
‘ If we care about that jealous clown’s emotions, half of our productions will be halt.’ King remarked, the pair of sharp red eyes turned to look at Jack. ‘ Are you scared of him?’  
  
The chimpanzee shook his head after moments of thinking, and King shifted his attention back to someone who possesses at least basic intelligence. The only redeemable thing about Jack is that he has some sort of brutality and courage that compensate his pathetically lacking of basic intellect.  
  
‘ … ’ King started thinking about the cost and benefit of recruiting her. Despite their lack of regard as to Doflamingo’s destructiveness, given he is the one that produces SMILE, the Hyajukuu would be in a bad position if they took the first strike to undercut him. But with the Donquixotes recent delay in development and heavy reliance on Ceaser, a notoriously unreliable scientist, King wants to have a hedging plan against it.  
  
Again, it is not undercutting if you call it motivation.  
  
‘ What do you want in return?’  
  
‘ Monetary reward.’ Deer tilted her head a little, indicating she is thinking about other conditions she can leverage. The way Deer Shang looks at people is strange: she would look straight into your eyes, and yet her eyes were so glassy that it makes you wonder if she’s looking at somewhere or nowhere.  
  
‘ You are halfway to death and you dare to ask for monetary reward rather than your life?’ King challenged her offer.  
  
‘Yes, obviously you need me more than I need my life.’ She chuckled. ‘ It is not particularly worth living anyway.’  
  
King only shoots her another judgemental gaze as he thinks of whether she is too peculiar to recruit. After careful calculation, he gestured Jack to untie her, his silence implying he has agreed with their deal.  
  
He always implies affirmation with silence, contrary to what their lawyers have strongly advised against.  
  
‘ What is your name, Sir?’ She asked.  
  
‘ King.’ He replied succinctly.  
  
‘ What a coincident, I am a Duchess.’ So she claimed.  
  
‘ Of course you are.’ He commented, his tone ironic rather than genuine.  
  
‘I need you to monitor me when I develop the drug, Mr.King.’ She asserted, her gaze fixated on him and ignoring the promiscuous existence of Jack. ‘ In that way, I might finally have something to live for every day.’  
  
King did not react to her flirt — in fact, he was so oblivious that he only came to the realization of the comment being flirtatious three months later whilst taking a shower ( ‘ Oh, it is a flirt’).  
  
‘Do you think you can talk to big brother in that tone? ’ irritated by the way she talks, Jack grunted.  
  
‘.. Yes.’ She said after a brief pause, her smile perhaps too bright for someone who is going to develop a component known as SAD.   
  
‘ As you wish, Duchess.’ To cut out the unnecessary argument, which Jack will most definitely lose, King agreed.   
  
She extended her hand in lieu of an oral confirmation, and King realized she has six fingers rather than five. An odd feature that makes King wonder whether it is some physical feature that only Kanoian would posses, but not so odd that King would mark it as interesting.   
  
King rarely deems anything besides medieval torture devices to be interesting.   
  
A handshake was made, and the deal was born.  
  
There it is, a simple transaction between the torturer and the victim, an ordinary transaction with an extraordinary individual.  
  
Or, at the very least, that is what King told himself. 


	2. Sympathy for the Devil

King the wildfire is a pragmatic, efficient, and stoic man of taste. 

And as a man of taste, he is particularly tasteful when it comes to killing people.   
  
King does not always execute killing tasks personally, especially when it is killing someone as insignificant as Arlong, the sub fisherman gang in the Tsukiji district, but he occasionally takes on these tasks because killing is his hobby: he found solace in eradicating unwanted people. For King, murder is very similar to Yoga, only more active, slightly more fatal, and definitely less painful.  
  
Murder is an art form, and King is the _Titian_ of homicide.  
  
He quietly hums along with a classical tune as he walks through the closed fish market, his dark figure merged into the midnight shades of blue. He has cleared the entrance by slitting the guard's fragile neck — he even caught the blood lost by an empty cup the guard was holding — and killed another octopus man by ripping his jaw apart. He also used one of the sashimi knives he found in the fish stall to kill two of Arlong’s confidants, all hitting them in the right spot without giving them a chance to beg. Killing a fish-man with sashimi knife is certainly offensive, but given that the targets are half fish, it is the most sufficient weapon that King can use; besides, when the police investigate they might treat it as a hate crime rather than mafia-related business, which made Hyakujuu remains in the shadow.  
  
He reached to the upper deck office and grabbed on the doorknob, his eyebrows twitched at the music blasting out from the office. He cannot quite figure out which song is it, but judging by the tune it is some sort of Somba rock from the 80s. The music was so loud that King cannot quite estimate who or what is inside, and he can only hear some noises that occasionally slips through the music.   
  
_Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name; But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game_  
  
The lyrics said, and how fitting it is for King has absolutely no idea what is happening. It could just be Arlong himself, but it can also be other subordinates. But the numbers are not really a concern: they are only some minor mafia from the East Blue, and King is, well, he is King the wildfire. And with his head quickly think of a few strategic plans as a backup, King turned the doorknob, his brain embracing the killing high he would soon confront.  
  
But what confronts him is not the expected silence or fish-men holding their guns. Rather, the first thing King heard is a loud, bone fracturing noise, and his face was tainted with a splash of piscine blood.  
  
 _What the fuck._  
  
King wiped the blood off with the back of his hand, his eyes started analyzing at the mess inside. The whole office is layered with plastic mat, and standing in the middle of the room is two figure in biohazard suits, one tall and one short, with the short one holding a miniature axe and chopping a green-skinned limbs into pieces, and the tall one holding Arlong’s head as it injects a syringe into his neck.  
  
 _What the fuck._ King cursed again.  
  
‘Oh, it is just Mr.King.’ The small figure flicked his protective mask up to confirm his identity, the pair of large dark eyes glanced at King, his tone flat without surprise. Recognizing it is Deer Shang's servant, King's eyebrows frowned further, and his brain started wondering what on earth is that sly weasel doing in here again.  
  
‘ What are you doing here, Mr.King?’ The taller figure tittered as she dejected the syringe into a test tube, and one can tell it is Deer Shang just by her polished accent.  
  
‘ You can’t just come here to kill them because they are fish-man, that is very specist.’She added, her hands brutally removing a whole spinal cord from the headless body, tainting her biohazard suit red.  
  
‘ I am here for Hyakujuu’s business.’ King explained, his eyes squinted as he saw Deer breaking a powdered bone into small pieces like some kind of crackers.‘ Why are you here.’   
  
‘ For the Rhincodon typus genome.’ She said as she pushed her protective mask up, showing a pair of slanted eyebrows and large fox eyes. ‘ It is the key material to create the _elixir_ that can recover a severely damaged liver of a drag-queen. Vegapunk likes to inject these to prisoners and make them regenerate limbs infinitely - he calls them his reusable mouses.’  
  
 _Interesting anecdote, unamusing logic._  
  
‘ You came here to kill these people for genetic harvest.’King observed, his tone is so righteous that he almost forgot he also came here to kill the same troupe of people for mafia related reasons.   
  
‘ We paralysed their senses with dolphin toxin before dissecting them.’ Deer remarked.‘ The only other way to get the extract is from Sabody, and I never buy anything from Sabody because — ’  
  
‘ Because she hates paying.’ The servant boy raised his head up as he poured a large dose of powder to the cylinder tube, his small hand poured down a liquid inside the tube and caused a small poof of a turquoise cloud. It could have been pretty if King does not know it was a fish-man corpse that caused the reaction.   
  
‘ BECAUSE I abhor human trafficking. ‘ Deer clarified as she kicked his stubby leg, which caused the small Kanoian to let out of a small ouch. ' What can I say, I am a very compassionate human being.’   
  
' One can tell.' King replied drily as he saw her throwing the unwanted bodies into another plastic cylinder.   
  
‘ Do you want to help ?’ Deer asked as she held up a purple heart, ’ It is full of glitters.’  
  
 _As if some fish stunk glitter would make the whole butchery more appealing._  
  
Require some time to digest the surreal murderous scene, King shook his head and backed away from the door, his eyes slowly blinked as he internally questioned what he had just witnessed. And with the two went on with their colourful chemical butchery whilst humming along with the catchy tune (' _Killed the czar and his ministers, Anastasia screamed in vain_ '),King realized one thing: behind her aristocratic flair, stylized disparity, and uninhibited charm, Deer Shang is horridly bizarre.  
  
It is not the first time King discovered her bizarreness. The first sign is noticeable on the first day of work, where she was blacked out on the cream carpeted floor in her sleeping room.Her servant, the small Kanoian man known as Zhong, explained the duchess would use herself as a white mouse to test out poisons, his expression calm as if he is dealing with broken porcelain. He told him she would take a fatal component and force herself to find a solution within the reaction time. If she fails to do so, she would think it is merely a ‘consequence of being incompetent’ and should probably die.‘Survival of the fittest’, she calls, and a dividend of her passion for science and suicidal tendency.  
  
She always has the ability to turn utter bizarreness into the most elegant sentence.   
  
‘If you want to kill yourself, you should probably do that after you completed the SAD project. ’ King observed after she has awakened.  
  
‘ Wow, you should definitely work at the Samaritan, Mr.King. Think of lives you can save just by your sheer practicality.’ She chuckled; she always laughs at her own joke even though it is not objective amusing.  
  
But with that comes her medical brilliance, one thing that King truly adores. If one ignores her abhorrent mentality, she objectively possesses a brilliant mind. She can often provide a complex formula for the Hyakujuu cleaning team to clear any blood scenes (sometimes she would carry it herself with extra fees), and she seems to possess enough medical knowledge to make Black Maria, Kaido’s wife, to make an appointment every month.Queen would also check on her progress every week and told him, in some medical words that King somehow grasped, Deer Shang has removed the hydrophobe feature from the formula (a task that is often deemed as medically impossible) and in completion of stabilising the component within the first few weeks.  
  
‘ For your plastic bin-bag laced brain,that means the development is okay. Too slow for my own standard. ’ Queen, the WIT educated biologist denoted. Always traveling in between the Wano and Lothiam operation, Queen is the chief of bioweapons, and yet he has never touched on drug or toxicology development because he deemed it to be 'below' him.   
  
And also because he failed his toxicology module in WIT, but he will never mention that in front of the Hyakujuu.   
  
‘ You have never even developed a pill.’ King commented factually.   
  
‘ That is because my brilliance is too complexed to be executed.’ Queen said as he poked on his sparkly bald head, and King doubts if the statement holds any truth at all: given his pathetic ways of courting Komurasaki (including sending her mix tape and very badly written poems), one of those Wanoian model that everyone seems to know, King strongly believes Queen failure of execution is rooted from wholly incompetence rather than an anything else.   
  
The second thing that King deemed as fascinating about Deer Shang is that she has a violent, somewhat sadistic streak along with her childish inhibition. It is not as violent as the calamities, but she is not exactly some sort of damsel that require protection. King has witnessed her violent action once: King needed to eradicate a human trafficker that broke the rules by using one of Hyakujuu’s ports to traffic Wanoians. Deer was requested to help assist on corpse disposal -- the Hyajukuu did not want the paranoid Doflamingo to think they are trying to plot against him by eradicating his old associate -- and King took on the task because at the Hyakujuu just assumes King and Deer came in a pair, and King seems to be the only one that can make the wild duchess stays still for more than an hour.   
  
After King thrashed Disco’s head against the steel wall, he realised Deer Shang was nowhere to be seen and he only found her later at the end of the backyard, her hand holding a revolver as a pink-haired man raised his hands to show his surrender. The man mouthed some words that King cannot hear, and without a moment of hesitation, Deer changed the pointer to his leg and pulled the trigger: the gun was modified to made minimum noise, and her shot was made in precision.  
  
The boy screamed, whined, and peed, and she squinted as the unwanted liquid touched the side of her embroidery shoes.  
  
‘ Who is that.’ King asked as he approached near her: the man was not part of Disco’s gang, which means there is one more person to clean up and one more loose end for King to tie up.  
  
 _Great._  
  
‘ Some random marine boy sent by a bitter ex. ’ Deer said as she passed a digital camera to King. They were photos of King holding an umbrella as Deer was busy stuffing dumplings in her mouth or King lighting up Deer's cigarette as they wait for the rain to stop. Despite of the great distance, all of the photos were taken in excellent lighting with a surprisingly artistic flair.  
  
‘ Nice photos.’ King commented as he snapped the camera in half. _Too bad he cannot keep a record._  
  
‘ You looked dashing in there. ’ Deer agreed, her leg stomped on the boy's wounded leg, a bone fracturing noise burst out with the boy’s weak scream.  
  
‘ What have you done to make an ex tails you?’ King wondered, for work purpose, of course.  
  
‘ I broke his skull and gave him a really deep scar or something. I can't remember, people are easily offended these days. ’ Deer said as she stepped on the pink hair man’s wound again.Judging by the exposed bone, bleeding muscle, and weak breathing, the man roughly requires six months of healing if he ever wants to walk again.  
  
‘ That must be an extremely fragile man given your….brittleness.’ King commented as he looked at her pale wrist. He would not say Deer is exactly fragile compare to a normal human being, but a human skull requires roughly 2300 newtons of force, and he doubted she has enough strength to do so.   
  
‘ I was on drugs, cocaine mix with PED.’ Deer explained casually. ' They said you should be afraid of a man with alcohol, but I think the true horror lies in a woman with cocaine.'   
  
‘ You are a bloody terrible person, duchess.’ He observed after a brief pause.   
  
‘ Isn’t that the reason why we get along?’ Deer replied, and King half chuckled.  
  
The third thing that King finds amusing about Deer Shang is that with all of her obscenity and debauchery, if one squint enough, she actually has certain empathy towards a very selected group of people. During the Disco project (which thank god does not involve any ghastly Disco), King discovered a Wanoian girl locked in a cage, her dark eyes shocked and her body trembling like some sort of canine. King initially wanted to let the police authority to deal with it (Hyakujuu is a company, not a charity),but Deer insisted to take the girl for ice cream then send her to Kyoshiro in Little Wano.  
  
‘ Why do we need to do that.’ King asked, his tone irritated. ' I don't deal with Kyoshiro.'   
  
' Because she is a child.’ Deer broke the lock and extended her hand to the Wanoian girl, her eyes looking at the bob haired girl inside. ‘ What’s your name?’  
  
‘ Toko.’ The girl replied, her eyes met with King's before quickly shifting back to Deer.  
  
‘ Do you want Toko to be a serial killer, King? Because leaving a child to loveless law enforcement is exactly how you create a serial killer.’ Deer riposted, and King found it ironic for Deer to care about an increasing supply in serial killer; If any, Deer seems to be one step away from becoming a serial killer.  
  
' Do I look like I care?' King questioned rhetorically.   
  
' Absolutely.' Deer said suavely, utilising his sarcasm to her own gain with ease.   
  
And with that, they took the child to Moscato, a popular gelato place in Lothiam, and King was forced to share because the portion is too big. King personally hates gelato, dislikes kids, and abhor sugar, but with Deer shoving the ice cream cone near his mouth, King was obliged to lift his face mask and took a bite. Rather mischievous, she took the opportunity to shove the ice cream into his nose, and such an act greatly irritated King but entertained Toko.  
  
They then sent the distraught kid to Kyoshiro’s establishment in Gion, a part of Little Wano that is not necessarily kid-friendly, and with King in his gimp mask and Deer in her blood-stained male Kanoian garment, they looked a dysfunctional family that had just been through a bloodbath.   
  
‘ Is that…your kid, Dr.Deer?’ The guardsman asked as he looked at King suspiciously, his face conflicted and confused.   
  
‘ Yes, it is the love child between King and — ’ King quickly muffed her mouth to stop her from spreading any rumors, his eyes giving her a darting gaze before shifting back to the guardsman.  
  
‘ She is trafficked, see whether Kyoshiro can take her home or give her a home.’ King passed, or, to be accurate, shoved the girl to the man's arms, his hand irritatingly wipe off the trail of mucus she left on his upper arm. Toko waved enthusiastically as if she had fun tonight, but all that King can think of is how disgustingly non-adorable are kids and how much he prefers dogs or torture tools.   
  
King the wildfire: the only man that sees Kids, torture tools, and dogs as the same tier.   
  
‘ Well done, King. You have saved one life and killed seven others tonight.’ Deer said as she raised the ice cream cone to let King eats it.  
  
‘ The saving part is involuntary.’ To make sure she would not shove the ice cream on his nose again, he continued to eat the ice cream by holding onto her hand. King only become aware of the intimateness until he detected her reddened ear tip, he released his hand to let Deer finish the ice cream, his hand covered his mouth to make a dry cough in order to escape from the awkwardness.  
  
‘ This will never happen again.’ King complained as they walked past the bridge.  
  
‘ That’s a pity, I have fun tonight.’ Deer smiled, and King was not quite sure whether she is referring to the killing part, cleaning up part, or the gelato part. But he nonetheless found his heart warmed, and his eyes diverted away from the distracting beam in her ambersque eyes.  
  
‘ You ate all the sprinkle, King.’ Deer contested, her upper lip stuck with a line of heart-shaped confetti as she took a bite of the violet scope.

‘ They are all on your lip. Upper lip. ’ King sacrificed his favorite handkerchief to dap away the sprinkles, but with a particularly stubborn heart-shaped confetti stuck on her upper lips, King gave up on his hygienic persistence and brushed it off with his thumb.  
  
 _Her lips are soft._ King thought. _Soft and probably sweet_.  
  
‘ Please stop being a creep, King.’ Seems to have heard his internal dialogue, Deer grinned, and King made a complaining grunt as he forces himself to snap back to his pragmatic stage.  
  
 _Cocky little shit_.  
  
As if the universe would like to make a twist on this comedically pathetic partnership,a strong gush of wind pushed the two bodies forward, and Deer quickly pressed her hand on her hat, her body slightly losing her balance; ever quick to action, King reflectively wrapped his arm around her waist to prevent the ice cream from ruining his bodysuit. With her body soft as melted butter and her pale neck smelling like some kind of ambrosial flower, King suddenly remembered that she is a woman.  
  
A dazzling one, even.  
  
And for the moment, for the very brief moment, with Deer’s long lashes, breakable breathe and perishable existence, all that King can think of is to bend down and kiss her.  
  
He almost did — his body has moved without him even noticing, and his grip has tightened. When he became aware of their dangerous closeness, Deer’s face was flushed to a rosy colour, and King’s heartbeat has raised in a dangerous manner.  
  
 _Ah, fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) King's killing scene is inspired by Black Noir from the boys ( Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L09zfsVYQz8) - feels like that's how he would kill irl  
> (2) Thanks for reading ! :*)


	3. Crass conversation and torture methods

‘ Do you want to fuck me? ’Deer asked, and King nearly choked on his coffee.  
  
‘ No.’ King replied. He was not quite sure if he wants to have sex with her, for he never even consider it as an option, but one thing he absolutely knows is that he does not want to answer the crass question.

‘ How unfortunate.’ She sighed as she leaned against the balcony. ‘ I would fuck me.’  
  
 _What kind of answer is that_. King frowned as he shifted his attention from his book to Deer.It was hard enough for him to act like he was reading in the first place: he found Deer, in her negligee and embroidery slipper,irritatingly distracting. Her occasional accidental eye contact also made his heart fluster and irritates King even further.  
  
King, the only man alive who would be irritated by developing a crush.  
  
‘ You should probably stop looking at me like that.’ Deer commented as she stares at the night sky.  
  
‘ Like what? ’ King asked, his tone does not necessarily sound like a question.  
  
‘ Like I am the only thing in your eyes.’ Deer replied.  
  
‘ It is my job to monitor you, Duchess.’ King brushed off her flirt with a solid argument.  
  
 _But looking at you like that is not part of my job_. He mentally added.  
  
‘ I know.’ Deer smiled, ‘and I like it a little bit too much.’  
  
King can almost felt his heart skips a beat, but of course, King would not allow himself to do that: Deer Shang seems to use flirt as a social skill rather than a means to an end. It would also be wholly inappropriate to fall for her just because she possesses some sort of doomed beauty mixed with chaotic brilliance, the type of that King find irresistible.  
  
 _No_. King told himself _You are way too old for this shit_.  
  
Ever since their deal from Cargo 45, King would go to her home every night to monitor the drug development progress. Living in a large Venetian apartment located on top of an old yellow stone building, it is the place where she treats her patient at day (she is a doctor, after all), and pursue her pharmaceutical interest at night.  
  
Covered in oil paints and aged chionise wallpaper, Deer's apartment is a mess of oriental opulence, with the reading room lined with tall bookshelves, ancient scrolls, and a large reading stand toppled with a messy drawing desk. There is also a beige sofa next to the tall balcony window where King would work and monitor her, as his job so miserably requires him.  
  
Stalking on a Kanoian girl every night, what a chore. 

Much to King’s surprise, Deer Shang showed a level of focus and dedication that King did not quite expect her to exude — her smile will diminish, her eyes fixated on her project, and even her breathe would become quiet. Perhaps her waywardness has overshadowed the fact that she is a top student from a prestigious school, and her face made people underestimates her ability and random intellect.  
  
But every day at precisely nine o’clock, her short, pale-like boy servant would bring in a cart of coffee with Western pastries (or tea with savoury dim sum), and she would pause her focus for an hour. She would resume back to her flamboyant self and exchange conversation that ranges from how many sugars they add in their coffee ( King: none, Deer: one)to how many fingers they have (Deer has twelve because of a hereditary issue).King would remember all the information to build up a portfolio locked in his heart — for work, of course.  
  
‘What are you reading?’ Deer asked. She has a habit of sipping coffee in front of the balcony, her dangerously flimsy negligee would ruffles against the wind, and King would find himself ogling at the pair of pale legs before he can control his thought.  
  
Deer Shang seems to owns two types of clothing: tailored male Kanoian garment, and lasciviously feminine slips ( Grey, nude, cream and baby blue, all in the shade of shiny mulberry, ruffled with the most delicate embroidery).She said it is the most comfortable wear she can wear, but King believes it is the most dangerous clothing for it is easy-tear.  
  
He is only a man, after all.  
  
‘ Essay of historical torture methods. ’ King reported.   
  
‘ Does it covers Kano?’ She asked, and King shook his head. Historical books often neglected oriental regions such as Wano and Kano — they are basically wipe out from world history. The ‘World’ has a very limited definition, after all.  
  
‘ One of the Kanoian torture methods is to bury needles under the nail beds. It is so painful that one can barely use their hand or sleep at night. It will swell up so badly that each finger would turn into an eggplant shade of purple.’ She said as she sat on the spot in front of his legs, her head resting in the empty space between his thigh ( he has a habit of manspreading), her head dangerously close to his groin. He was going to complain about the invasion of personal space, but he found himself oddly comfortable with the physical proximity, and he brushed his complaint off with a brief mumble.   
  
‘ It sounds like long term torture for discreet purpose. ’ King commented.  
  
‘ Yes, it is normally used in the Forbidden City where the Emperor lives; the royal concubines are all borderline maniacs.’ Deer said.  
  
‘ How do you know?’ King wondered.  
  
‘ My mother was one of those royal concubines and she was tortured to death, so I remember every method. She was absolutely stunning but incredibly stupid.’ She replied nonchalantly. ‘ The cat method where the cat would peel off your skin until it reaches organs, the‘handful red’ where they slap your mouth till it is all red …’  
  
King did not say a word. He was not sure if he should ask about her past, for some people tends to be quite sensitive about their history, and Deer seems to not particularly care about the silence either.

’ After she died, the other concubines did the same thing to me because they think I would seduce the emperor, my dad. I mean, he probably would fuck me because Kano Royals are very incestuous and I was an absolutely dashing child.’She said drily. ‘ An eunuch saved me and we fled here. He gave me a new name, a new identity, a new life, and I call him dad from then onwards. ‘  
  
Not sure what to say, King gave her a comforting pat on her forehead (one pat, singular), and Deer burst out of uncontrollable laughter. Her laugh is almost contagious: clear, high noted, and certainly childlike, it is laced with a kind of innocence that is the complete opposite of what she is like as a person.   
  
‘ You are terrible at this.’ She wiped the excessive tears away from her eyes, and she paused for a while before uttering another word. ‘Nuo Gulwaigaya.’   
  
‘Huh?’   
  
‘ My real name is Nuo Gulwaigaya.’ She took another sip of her coffee. ‘ You can go and search for it: the 13th daughter of Emperor XiaoLong Bao, and the only daughter of Madame Cicade.’  
  
 _So she really is a duchess_. King thought, _just an irregular one.  
_  
‘ That's a pretty name.’ King remarked, but he quickly regrets expressing even a hint of his fondness.  
  
‘ I don’t know why I would tell you that.’ She said as her face comfortably resting on King’s thigh.‘ The Gulwaigaya bloodline is all gone, no one remembers that name anymore .’  
  
‘ I don’t remember my real name either. Everyone from my race is dead.’ King confessed without revealing too much information.‘ I remember nothing.’  
  
And that is more than any information he has told the mandatory psychiatrist in Impel Down for his six years in there.  
  
He was not quite sure why he confessed, but he just wanted to at the moment. King somehow felt a sense of commonality with Deer: he lives pure loneliness and silence since he has a conscience. The infinite loneliness of having no one to fall back on or having a safety net is daunting. He tried to accept the loneliness for most of his life,but even to this day the abyss would stare back at him, and he would much rather live another way.  
  
And the sad thing is, King cannot quite imagine what is the other way. He has never lived in the other way — the normal, secure way of living — and there is no memory available for him to construct a reliable imagination. He remembers part of his childhood vividly — how his little sister laughter is mixed with a pig-like snort, how his father's eyebrows would frown in a way that made him look more serious than he actually is — but the rest is an incomplete collection of memory.He watched a TV show once and imagined that might reflect how a family ought to live like, but he just found it so utterly dysfunctional that it angers him.  
  
The abyss has even cruelly stripped away his imagination.  
  
‘ Do you like your life now?’ Deer asked as she looked up to meet with his.  
  
‘ I do.’ King answered after careful consideration.  
  
He likes working for Kaido, he even likes the drinking session that were held once every month. Despite of his despise towards Queen and Jack, he actually likes his life in Hyakujuu.They do not care at all: his life, his past, or his race. They only care about one thing, performance, and King is always on top of the game.  
  
Kaido, the King of the beast and epitome of bromance.  
  
‘ Then this part of your life defines you. ’ She took a sip of her coffee. ‘Fuck the past.’  
  
No pity, no self-righteousness, just a simple comforting attitude that made King felt relieved. That is the magic of Deer Shang: she always treats trauma so lightly that it either made people angry or relieved.  
  
‘ You do look like you had had a pretty name.’ She shrugged. ‘ Well, _King_ is pretty too.’  
  
 _King is pretty too_ , as if she is also calling him pretty. 

‘ Is it?’ King suspected.  
  
‘ Mainly because you carry it.’ She replied, and King chuckled. It is rare for King to chuckle, and it is incredibly hard to detect: he would only breathe out a breath of air slightly heavier than usual. But seems to have caught the chuckle, her eyes brightened up a bit, her lips broke into a slight smile.  
  
‘ I would call you by your actual name when you remember it.’ She promised.  
  
 _When, not if,_ as if she knows one day King can remember the happy memories that he once held dearly.  
  
‘I would be delighted.’ King replied, her sentence somehow warmed up his heart.  
  
‘ And as a repayment, you have to let me sleep on your lap.’ She quickly demanded like a shrewd businessman.  
  
‘ …’ King paused. It is the most unfair deal that King was ever forced to enter, and the moment of warmth is instantly gone. King nonetheless gave in and let her have her way, and Deer quickly climbed on the sofa whilst King complaining in a low mumble.  
  
With her hair strewn across his thigh like dark water, and her pale legs, barefooted and high arched, rested comfortably on the other end, her pale body collapsed in between like some sort of a tired doll. Clouded with an ambrosial scent, her quiet presence was so pure that King nearly forgot she is a nihilist with questionable morales. She took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth; and King, always with a lighter but never a smoker, lighted it up. She has the habit of smoking before she naps, and King, like a well-trained dog, would feed her the cigarette whenever she taps on his hand. He secretly likes how her eyes turned into a gleaming caramel colour whenever he lights up her cigarette, _like a candy eyed girl that happens to be eye candy._  
  
' Why do you smoke ?' King asked, and she slightly frowned to indicate she is thinking.   
  
' I suppose one just want to die faster.' Her lips parted, and let out a sweet breathe of smoke.   
  
' Do you not have any reasons to live?' King followed up with another question. He is often curious when it comes to Deer, for reason that is not quite clear. Clear to most bystanders, but not so clear to King the embrittle fire.   


‘ No, do you?’ She wondered, her hand grabbing his hand to indicate she needs another blow.

His eyes studied her face as he mechanically fed her another smoke. There is always some kind of a melancholy expression that lingers in between her eyes, and yet she would remain smiling like the world  is some sort of satyr play, and King simply cannot take his eyes off her.  
  
' I do.' He finally commented, and the pale cheekbones instantly blushed.  


‘ Idiot.’ As if she can read his mind, she quipped and blew out another hypnotic smoke along with a gracious chuckle.  
  
' Why do you always look at me like _that_?' Deer tapped his hand, and he reflectively removed the cigarette with his index finger.   
  
_She knows the answer, she just wants me to say it out loud._  
  
‘ I think you are very beautiful when we first met, and I suppose that impression still lingers. ’ He said, his face could felt the burning temptation underneath his gimp mask. He was not sure why would he suddenly confess, but he does not exactly act like himself when he was with Deer: he is merely a leather clad fool when she is around.  
  
‘ I am afraid I am an intoxicated mess; there is less to this than what meets the eye. ’ Deer brushed it off with a self-deprecating joke.  
  
‘ I don't know, even your mess seems glittery.’ King replied, his brain deeply regretting this conversation. He blamed it on Deer Shang’s amoeba-like charm that invaded his mind, eating away his rationality.  
  
Deer paused for a while, the pair of fox eyes looked at him with her puzzled gaze as she blew out another hypnotic smoke. Then she finally parted her full lips and graced him with her delightful words.   
  
' You are dangerous, King.'   
  
' I work in a semi-mafia business, duchess. Being dangerous is one of the job requirements.' King replied.   
  
' No, not that kind of dangerous.' She smiled a little. ' The kind of dangerous that makes me feel like life is perhaps worth living for a very brief moment.' She readjusted her legs into a comfortable position, the Kanoian beauty sighed comfortably.  
  
' How terrifying is that?'   
  
King did not say anything in response. How eery is it that he felt exactly the same way: as if some sort of a magical lustre, the mere presence of Deer Shang made him forgot about everything - his past, his presence, and the deep disparity that lingers in between.   
  
How terrifying is that? 


	4. Pixie Dust and Pixie Drugs

‘ Are we going to shag tonight, Mr.King?’Deer asked as a wisp of purple smoke sneaked out from her mouth.  
  
She has laced the cigarette with _pixie dust_ , a compound mix of sugar, acaia and hint of tetrodotoxin to make it looks violet and glittery, and Deer was so proud of her production that she called the newly created cigarette _Pixie Drug_.   
  
What can she say -- she likes her poisons with style.  
  
‘ We are not going to fuck tonight.’ King replied succinctly, his deep voice articulated even under the loud electronic music.  
  
‘ So we will fuck any other night?’ Deer grinned, and King shifted his head sideways to give her his usual cold hard stare. Ever laconic, King seems to have replaced every need of expressions with his handsome burgundy stares, and Deer knew him enough to know that each glance has its own distinctive meaning.  
  
For instance, the stare that King gave her (widened eyes, 70% eye white, 10% reduction in the size of his vermillion pupil, 20% spidery vessels) is him trying to say: shut the fuck up, Duchess.   
  
‘ I suppose I will just wait for some lost soul to fuck me then.’ Deer declared. She was not quite sure why she would say that: maybe it is her adolescent like nature and insecurity that made her subconsciously tries to make King jealous, or maybe she is just dying for a fuck. The only thing that has been screwing her for the past year is her series of terrible life choices, and she is frankly quite tired of that.  
  
‘ Don’t you have any other thing to think about rather than sex?’ King asked, his question sounds more like a condemnation than a curious inquiry.  
  
‘Not when you are dressed like that.’ Deer chuckled as she yearned for another wave of glittery nicotine. She has a habit of chuckling at things that she deemed as amusing, which mostly include her joke because she finds herself utterly delightful.   
  
Self-love is important. 

‘…’ King shot her another death stare, and Deer has decided to blow out the purple smoke straight to King’s face which irritated him further.  
  
They were in Momoiro, one of those pop-up raves that Ivankov throws out every third weekend in an undisclosed location, where everyone who is someone will get high, get drunk, dance, and commit a series of debauchery that even the paparazzi would be too shocked to print. There is always a line of male models dressed in zentai suits pretending to be statues, projectors playing artwork on the velvet walls, mafia snorting white lines with politicians, and heiress or heirs drinking champagne whilst having oral sex. And with King standing straight and his sharp eyes scanning around the room, his demeanor suggests he is certainly not here for fun, but his gimp mask screams that he is a regular attendee.   
  
‘ You look pretty in that as well.’ King commented, his eyes quickly looked away as he caught himself uttering those mildly affectionate compliments.  
  
 _Aw.  
_  
‘ Who would have guessed you like latex nun aesthetic.’ Deer replied sarcastically. It was a raunchy outfit that she wears whenever she is in Madame Ivankov or one of these raves: a mesh long sleeves top with a white collar and corseted high waist skirt, matching cross necklace and dark lipstick, she even has a latex habit to make her look more holy and authentic. It is an outfit that can blend into the crowd, and it does not hurt that Deer often felt rather provocative in those tight latexes.   
  
‘ I can call you father if you want.’ Once again, Deer is amused by her own wit and laughed.   
  
‘ Shut up, Duchess.’ King ordered.  
  
 _Aw, he is shy._ Deer thought. _Who said King the wildfire cannot be cute._

Deer never expected to see the stealthy enigma in Momoiro, but she is nonetheless delighted when she saw him trying to enter the heavily guest listed door with brute force: his annoyed face tends to be the highlight of her night. He was surprised to see her — and certainly thrilled to see her out of her Kanoian male garment — although his eyes carry a slight discontentment as if he is questioning why she is in an abandoned tunnel and not in her apartment developing a military-grade compound.  
  
But King should be glad that she is sneaking out: after all, King can only get in after Deer tipped Tibany with one of her pixie drugs and reassured that King is her BDSM partner rather than a pervy intruder.   
  
‘ Are you here to supply drugs? ’ King asked as soon as they got into the industrial elevator, his eyes staring at her as she readjusting the line of drugs supply on her diamond gator belt. She came fully prepared: MDMA mix lollipop that shaped like a pearl, happy pills in pastel and smiles, and a new sugar-coated pill made by the residue of SAD. She was not very sure if he is looking at her legs or the collection of colorful drugs she had on her thigh, but Deer does not really care: if anything, she welcomes King’s prying gaze. As if the most elegant poison, his eyes were burgundy that cut through your soul, and there is something so dignified about his calculated movement that makes Deer’s heart jump.  
  
‘ I am not a drug dealer, I am a _pharmaceutical enthusiast_.’ Deer clarified as she pressed on the elevator button. She does not necessarily like selling drugs -- as a retired duchess, she found the idea of being a sales rather banal -- but she does love money. ‘However, this is _the_ Momoiro, of course I am here to milk those trust fund monkeys.’  
  
She is also here to get high and get fuck, but Deer omitted that part for professional purposes.  
  
‘ Isn’t Queen supposed to be monitoring you tonight? Where the hell is that pig?’ King asked, his tone slightly irritated.  
  
‘ I told him Komurasaki is in Cuckoos then he just disappeared.’ Deer tilted her head. ‘ Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring me?’  
  
 _God, I sound like a jealous girlfriend. Damn drugs really make me lose part of myself._  
  
‘ This is Yamato’s first date and Kaido requested me to follow them discreetly.’ King replied, clearly not satisfied by the fact that he was assigned to babysit Kaido’s dazzlingly handsome daughter. ‘ She was supposed to go back home after some pizza dinner,' He crinkled his nose slightly to show his unamusement, 'but they sneaked to ...this.’  
  
As expected, the disciplined and stern King has never been to a rave, let alone an orgiastic, drug-induced rave made by the great mind of Madame Ivankov. Deer chuckled again, her mind cannot help but wonder what kind of a person would take a yakuza's daughter to a bacchanalian rave on a first date.   
  
Probably someone who would date a yakuza's daughter in the first place.   
  
‘ This is a tunnel connecting to an oligarch's mansion where the party is held. Just to mind you, the Ivankov set forbids sexual hold up so be prepared to fuck me right on the spot. ’ Deer said, and the shock in King’s eyes is definitely worth the money she lost by giving the free joint to Tibany.  
  
Rather than wandering around, getting high, and selling drugs like she normally does, Deer felt semi obliged to stood by King like some sort of a guardian over a socially unfitted child. King seems to fits comfortably in the background, but he is clearly very not used to the crowd of people having oral sex or reverse-cowgirl in front of him. It is a huge sacrifice for Deer: she has been exchanging some intense eye contact with a leather-wearing man in a black mask for the past thirty minutes, and if it weren’t for King she would definitely be in the middle of an orgasmic adventure right now.  
  
 _What had happened to me, am I a saint?  
_  
Deer took one last blow of her cigarette and shoved it to King, her heels clicking away towards the bar to buy herself a drink. And by drink, she really meant chocolate soy milk because she is a teetotaller.  
  
She treats her body like a temple, you see. One must draw a line in the myriad of unhealthy addictions to counter the poisons that she consumes on a daily basis.  
  
’ Where are you going?’King quickly grabbed her wrist, and realising how out of character he is acting, King quickly recollected himself and resumed to his original position, his hand remains around her hand.  
  
‘ Going to find someone else to fuck me for the night.’ Deer lied, and King grabbed her wrist tightly.  
  
‘ Don’t go.’ King uttered, his tone flat as if he is reporting some ancient Wanoian torture method rather than begging. In fact, his tone seems to be more thrilled when he explained to her how the Iron Maiden is likely to be a myth.   
  
To put it in other words, Deer Shang ranks even lower than a useless torture device.   
  
‘ No.’ Deer asserted. She does not mean to be mean to King, but it is one of the habitual reactions that she inherited from her old insecurity where she tends to push people away just to test whether they will come back. It is not healthy, but Deer Shang is not necessarily the most mentally or physically healthy person in the entire Lothiam.   
  
And like a defeated canine, King lowered her hand to his side, his hand lingered around hers for a while before releasing her back to the wild. Despite his laconic nature and generally menacing presence, King could be cute sometimes, especially when he is slightly saddened by Deer's action.  
  
 _Aw._  
  
Deer clicked her high heel against the marble floor as she expertly avoided the blue-haired man with curly eyebrows jerking next to the hors d’oeuvre table, her slender body shifted through the crowd of cigar smoking Private Equity funds chimpanzee that works for Hawkeye and reached to the art-deco inspired bar.   
  
‘ What can I get you, Madame?’ The blonde man with curly eyebrows asked, his smile wide and overfriendly, a telltale sign of some desperate soul that tries too hard to please whatever female that he encounters.  
  
‘ Chocolate soy milk.’ Deer ordered. _Should I grab a drink for King?_  
  
‘No alcohol….are you actually a nun?’ The bartender joked, but Deer is too occupied by her other thoughts ( precisely, the image of King drinking chocolate soy milk) to digest his joke.  
  
‘ Yes.’ Deer replied in her most sincere expression, her t was flat and stoic as King’s — Deer realised it is a good way to make people think she is being serious, and it is incredibly hilarious when she utters the most ridiculous thing with her stern face on.  
  
‘ Can I pay for your drinks?’ A lavender-haired man merged in and tilted his head towards Deer's direction, his mouth broke into a large grin as his pink eyes glanced at her legs.  
  
Deer looked at him for a while, her lips curved up politely.  
  
' Sure,' She blinked. ' But I am not going to sleep with you.'  
  
The smile on his face quickly disappeared, but he still nonetheless awkwardly handed the bartender his black Amex with his eyes gawking elsewhere. He is cute,a rugged hyena type of cute, but not cute enough for Deer to lower her dignity and have regrettable self-hate sex with him.  
  
Besides, Deer has a much larger rottweiler to entertain at the moment, and it is the entertainment of her night.  
  
‘ As a matter of fact, do you have a collar with a leash? Or handcuffs? ’ Ignoring the man, Deer turned to the bartender, her smile runs sweeter this time. ‘ For religions purpose, of course.’ She did a prayer sign to make it sounds more convincing. ‘ Amen.’  
  
King was, of course, still in his corner with his eyes fixed on the dance pool, his eye awkwardly avoiding the businessman worshipping a Wanoian school girl’s leg in the middle, his body inching towards the door. Without giving him enough time to react, her hand quickly cuffed the dangling metal around his wrist, their hands now cuffed to each other's like they are in some sort of law enforcement fetish, except one of them is a giant gimp and the other is a latex nun.   
  
Both perverts, just ridiculously good looking ones.   
  
‘ …?’ King’s eyes widened, and Deer gulped down the cup of soy milk without saying a word.   
  
Despite being rather conspicuous in size, King is cute: not fresh born puppy kind of cute, but the way he clumsily moves when Deer is around, the way his eyes shifted away whenever he felt slightly embarrassed, or the way his looks into something with an absolute focus somehow tickles the soft spot in her heart.   
  
' Yamato is not going to just stick in one spot, shall we go search for her? ’ Deer said as she slipped her hand into his and squeezed his palm.   
  
‘ What are these handcuffs for?’ King looked at the silver cuffs around his wrist, his language suggests he felt disdain about the handcuffs and yet has no problem as to the handholding.   
  
' Ivankov will castrate you if he finds out we are "ruining the vibe", it is just pretending we are foreplaying.' Deer half-joked. She was actually not sure what would Ivankov do if he found out someone is not having sex in Momoiro, but she believes castration might be one of the options. Despite being a gender-fluid embracing and LGBTQ friendly queen, Ivankov is a rather drastic person.   
  
'...' King remained quiet, and Deer could felt his judgemental gaze cutting through the back of her head.   
  
‘ And to prevent me from sneaking away.’ She looked up to meet with his gaze, her lips break into a wide smile.’ That’s what you are afraid of, isn’t it?’  
  
King once again did not answer, but with his eyes shifted away to the other side of the room, Deer can almost tell he blushed underneath the dark gimp mask. The leather boots followed her clicking patent heels obediently, and his hand was holding hers like he is some lost child that blindly follows her.   
  
_Should have asked for a leash_.  
  
Despite being a 1.8m tall silver-haired goddess, it is ridiculously hard to find Yamato among the crowd of skimpy Amazonian models, silver sling wearing transgender dancesr, or tasseled contortionists. And within the thirty minutes of their frantic search, they have successfully disrupted five blowjobs, three orgies, and accelerated one exhibitionist coitus.  
  
‘ How does the date looks like?’ Deer asked as they walked through a room with red petals projections on all corners of walls, her head poked into the opera curtains then quickly leaned back. ‘ Definitely not in that room.’   
  
‘ Tall, tan, with freckles. I remember his name is Ace. ’ Kind reported, his hand still holding hers. The way King held her hand is oddly gentle: as if he knows her hands will break if he held too tight, he only wrapped it close to make sure Deer could feel his warmth, but not so tight that it would hurt her. A surprisingly vanilla act in a place like Momoiro, and a more surprisingly vanilla act for someone like Deer Shang.  
  
Just as Deer were to comment on how the name Ace actually matches with the calamities, her eyes caught a glimpse of a certain disgustingly familiar pink feather, and she quickly pushed the nearby toilet door and pulled King inside. With the toilet box being exceptionally small, Deer was sitting next to the sink with King standing in front of her, their bodies close like they are in some sort of weird sex position featured in Cosmopolitan.  
  
‘ What now, duchess.’ King questioned, his red eyes fixated on Deer as their legs tangled with each other.  
  
‘ Bumped into unwanted people.’ Deer explained. Of course a man like Doflamingo would be here: he is always in these kinds of parties pulling ties and also pulling guys.  
  
' Ex-lover?' King asked suspiciously. He is always suspicious when it comes to her past romantic conquest, and Deer found his overt jealousy (albeit never admitting) oddly adorable.   


' Nope,' Deer frowned, her nose crinkled in disgust. ' nope, nope, nope.'   
  
Deer has a type - tall, lean man that covers half his face or all of his face --and the last thing that Deer Shang would touch is Doflamingo Donquixote, a man that desperately shows his face to almost every magazine and news channel. She also hated his aesthetic style: she prefers a wardrobe in a much darker, subtler shades.   
  
Wonder who matches all the listed criteria.   
  
With nothing to do and dying to so something, Deer decided to smoke. Smoking is often her solution to everything, and definitely a solution to this oddly sexual situation. But with her dress being extra snug, she found it incredibly hard to reach for her gator belt without revealing her underwear, and the thought of King seeing a private part of her makes her felt slightly hot.   
  
‘ Don’t.’ King commented as her non-cuffed hand went under the hem of her skirt.  
  
‘ Huh? I need a smoke.’ Deer squinted. _Did King the wildfire all of the sudden care about the safety procedure? Does his epithet actually suggest his love for controlling fire hazards?  
  
_ ‘ I will get hard if you lift up your skirt.’ King reported a matter of factly.  
  
‘ Oh, right.’ Deer nodded understandably, then her eyes widened as she finally digested the sentence. ‘ What?’  
  
' I will get inappropriately aroused if I see further skin exposure from you.’ King paraphrased each word in a more polite manner, and his tone was flat as if he is explaining cash flow on a balance sheet.  
  
‘ I like legs.’ He added, and Deer fails to apprehend how does _that_ add any weight to his sudden confession.   
  
‘ Oh.’ Deer remarked, and the two falls into an excruciatingly awkward silence.  
  
‘ Do you want to lick it — '  
  
‘ We should go —‘  
  
And they once again opened their mouth at the same time, this time with King’s eyes widened in awe and Deer bit her lips into a straight line. _  
  
_‘ I am sober, twenty-five, and incredibly horny.’ She said. ‘ So by all means, kiss or lick wherever you want, King. ‘  
  
Equally stunned by Deer's straightforwardness, the pair of red eyes widened and looked at Deer in a puzzled manner. Deer have never seen this side of King before, and she only sat still and continue to observe his facial expression. Shock, conflicted, lust, just as she expected King to reject her offer and knock on her head whilst mumbling, King instead kneeled down and took off her heels, his hand lifted his mask up to reveal a pair of thin lips and a strong jawline. Judging by his fair skin and Teutonic face structure, Deer can assume he is at least partially a human being.  
  
A handsome one, even, just like how Deer has always found him.   
  
And with that, he grabbed and kissed her feet: her toes, calves, her ankle, her thigh. He even used his tongue to taste every inch of her skin, his eyes closed as if her legs are the most delicious thing he has ever tasted, and Deer saw his bulge gradually erected in its full glory.  
  
 _Ohhhh, he really likes legs._  
  
Needlessly to say, King was called _King_ for a reason.  


And with King getting closer to a more sensitive region, Deer’s breathe went faster and her thigh squeezed tighter. Ever a considerate giant, King removed the spikes from his head ( who would have thought they were removable!), his cuffed hand keep on holding to hers in an oddly affectionate manner. Not prone to affectionate soft sex — her ex-sex partner was not a guy that is keen on being affectionate, and her fling with the nun is more spiritual than Deer would have liked — Deer felt a sudden warmth to her heart, and her face flushed to a light shade of pink.   
  
_I want more, I want more of King._  
  
He proceeded to peck on her sinus, and she let out of a small approving groan as her other hand grabbed on his head to make sure he kissed further. He lifted her underwear a bit to taste the inner part, and Deer reflectively arched up against her back to felt closer, his tongue movement strong and well-trained. She clutched against the upper back of his head, her mouth let out of a serial of gasps as he tasted even further. King is good: knowing how and where to taste or suck, every lip sounds he made Deer shiver, her lower region only gets moister as his tongue dwelled on faster: with the tight grip of his hand on the softest part of her thigh and the occasional kissing noise that he made from below, the tingle hidden deep inside her body has emerged.  
  
‘ Fuck.’  
  
Deer uncontrollably moaned, and taking it as a hint to kiss further, King's hand clutched tighter and the tingle began to spread through her body, turning it into a euphoric release from her lower spine straight to her brain. The door was abruptly opened halfway, but the purple head quickly turned back as soon as he saw Deer’s moaning face and the head inside her skirt, and the sudden rush only makes Deer more hyper.  
  
‘ What — ‘ King stopped his motion, his head slightly raised up and caused a comedic bulge to Deer’s skirt.  
  
‘ Don’t bother.’ Deer replied as she pushed his head back in between her thighs, and King obliged: he is also in the same mania stage that made him want to taste more of Deer Shang rather than anything else in the world.  
  
And with her eyes tinted with rosy cloud, everything suddenly started to look blurry; her body shivered and contracted, and her brain was temporarily occupied by the overwhelming waves of pleasure. She let out of one last gasp and her eyes rolled up, her lips broke into an uncontrollable grin as her throat satisfyingly groaned.  
  
With the overly sweetened scent of the toilet merged with the distinct mix of sweat and acidic smell, Deer knew one thing and one thing only: she has found her poison, and it is King the wildfire.  
  
_Cathartic, exhilarating, highly addictive, and thoroughly destructive._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> King is a very vanilla wholesome boi ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	5. A Night in Onigashima

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never expected this really really niche pairing would attract 100+ views. Thank you fellow readers and those who accidentally clicked on this fiction ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

Much to people’s surprise, Deer Shang is an actual doctor.

Even Deer Shang herself is surprised by the fact that she, an irresponsible, erratic, and incompetent individual is a doctor. 

Despite her involvement with numerous class A drugs and her platonic affair with a nun in her Vatican exchange practice ( beautiful girl with curly lashes and a madonna temper, ended with a tear tainted kiss and witnessed by a troupe of angry cardinals), Oxton still discreetly awarded her a certificate upon her hasty graduation. She is, of course, not a brain or heart surgeon like Law — she is much too careless to become one — but on paper, she is an aesthetic surgeon tailored to a very niche crowd. She would love to put toxicology as her main registry, but stating herself as a ' Cook' for drug making purpose would be too boisterous even for someone like her.   
  
Perhaps due to the Orients reputation of having ageless skin, or perhaps for the fact that she can provide drugs and beauty drugs at the same time, her career as an aesthetic surgeon is somewhat successful. Her clientele ranges models and socialites ( she often gets high with Komursaki in a Pappag fashion show backstage after administrating last-minute facelift), with one of her regular being Black Maria, Kaido’s towering and beautiful wife. 

‘ I slapped Kaido-sama on our first date.’ Black Maria recalled one time as Deer was testing some Lotus paste on her palm. 

‘ Then what happened, Madame?’ Deer asked. She cannot fathom anyone to slap someone like Kaido, a man that carries his personal orbits wherever he goes. 

‘ He came back the next week, sober with fresh flowers and a full kimono.’ Black Maria smiled, ‘ Then we are married happily for twenty years.’ 

Deer blinked as she looked at her peach-like skin, her brain cannot help but question what is Black Maria's actual age. Deer always loved house appointment with Black Maria: besides the hefty fees that she can extort, Black Maria posses a type of Wanoian elegance that belongs to the truly polished. Yet underneath the seraphic smile is a steel-like personality with feminine wile, one of those rarities that is highly aware of her own beauty and know how to leverage it. Deer often wondered whether she could ever carry the same magnitude one day, but her imagination is always destroyed by a mere glance at the bronze mirror. 

Black Maria likes Deer as well, at least better than other members of the Hyakujuu: she thinks Deer looks aesthetically pleasing and smells better than most of Kaido’s beastly subordinate, and she always draws similarities between Deer and Yamato, her cross-dressing daughter, except Deer is much, much shorter and much, much more Kanoian. 

‘ Since when did you start dressing up like a boy, if you don't mind me asking?' Black Maria wondered, her intention wholly curious. 

Deer paused to think of an appropriate answer: she has been dressing up as a boy since her father smuggle her away in a cabbage cart. She initially does it for her safety, but once the Gulwaigaya dynasty was overturned (Kanoian dynasty tends to die like flies), she just wore them because they are comfortable and have a lot of pockets. 

‘ Since I was seven, Madame.’ She answered. 

‘ Does your father mind about your clothing preference?’

‘He did.’ Deer replied. ‘ He said my sartorial taste is _passe_.’ 

Black Maria chuckled, even her chuckle is goddess-like. 

Another reason to like house visits in Onigashima, Kaido residence tucked at the north of Lothiam, is that the estate is simply stunning. Centered around a century-old Bonsai and a wide arc of moss lawn, and the main house, decorated in dark tiled ceiling and aged rosewood, is a mix of understated Wanoian elegance and modern zen. It also has its horse riding ring and helicopter field because Yamato adores horses and Kaido abhors traffic: he once abandoned his jaguar midway in a road and decided to walk because of traffic, causing even more traffic in return. 

Every time after her treatment, Deer would sit by the corridor and stare at the garden, munching on the Wanoian dessert as she zoned out and escape into her wonders. It is a privilege that Black Maria has granted her, and her presence is obstructive enough that passerby tends to ignore her existence: Jack once thought she is some type of phantom and fainted, and Queen once accidentally knocked her over the loggia because his balloon mass of velocity failed to notice her. With the Hyakujuu wild striding style, there comes one exception:King can always spot her right away from of the quietest corner.

When he first saw her in Onigashima, he was talking to a subordinate in his pragmatic tone, his hand holding a stack of report as his leather shoes clicked alongside the long wooden loggia. His eyes lingered at Deer for a while before turning back to the paper, his head turned up again as they walked in the adjacant corridor, his eyes squinted suspiciously as if he cannot believe whether she is real or a cruel neurology trick. 

‘ Good afternoon, King.’ She greeted him, and his eyes beamed up a little. As a man in a gimp suit, King tends to reveal his emotion through his eyes. A surprised widened gaze, a calming observation, or an agitated glance — it is easy to detect once you have observed enough, and Deer has observed a ridiculous amount that would have been creepy if she weren't so beautiful (or so she claims). 

‘ Oh,’ He observed. ‘ I thought you are just a hallucination.’

‘ I am flattered - you think of me that much ?’ Deer asked, and instead of a standard repartee, King only turned his face and walked away, his action affirmed his affection. 

_I have never expected him to be this cute._

No one ever expected King the wildfire to be cute. 

Deer stayed in King’s apartment once. It was one of her in house visits, a bit late that day, and Kaido passed out in the midst of the Hyakujuu dinner. The Hyakujuu has a tradition of having dinner in the Onigashima as a group almost every week: it is mainly more than thirty men sitting at the huge tatami dining hall with Kaido sitting in front of the Nihonga, everyone gorging down a set meal in absolute silent then get drunk and blast into their maximum volume. 

Unlike the usual drunken roar of laughter, that night's dining hall descended into a mix of chaotic noises, and Deer cannot help but poke her head to spy on the dinner. With the dining hall door being wide opened, Kaido was lying on the floor with his mouth gasping for air, Jack was kneeling next to Kaido, his large, clumsy hands stumbling to perform first aid as he cried out ‘ big brother, how come I skipped my complimentary first aid class!’, and Queen claiming it is an assassination attempt (and therefore it is the fault of King) as he tries to overstuff himself with a huge bowl of rice. 

‘ It will take an eight-nation alliance to kill him, you imbecile, it is not an assassination.’ King retorted in his usual calming manner. Noticing Deer’s head from afar, he gestured his hand as his eyes fixated on Kaido, who by now has turned into purple colour. ‘ Come here, Deer.’ 

_Deer, not duchess_. He tends to avoid being affectionate in front of the Hyakujuu members.

‘ Did King-sama just called that man _dear_?’ A gigantic man whispered, his face shocked by the fact that King would affectionately call anyone. 

' Come here, Deer Shang.' King clarified, his tone slightly annoyed. 

‘ DEAR shang? That's even more affectionate!’ Another man in glasses added, his eyebrows curled into a puzzled manner.

‘ Deer, D-E-E-R.’ King barked this time, his patient all lost by his useless subordinates. 

Deer quickly diagnosed Kaido’s reaction as a toxic mix of pufferfish and plum wine — she had the exact same reaction when she tried that component a year ago ( acidic high but very bad stomach pain afterward) — and injected a heavy dose of vomit-inducing solution with an easy fixer antidote that she always kept in her bag ( just in case anyone accidentally ate her glittery poisons).  
  
In case of an unstable reaction, Deer was requested to stay in Onigashima for the night, and people just assume she would sleep with King instead of one of the thirty guest rooms that were scattered across the estate. 

‘ It wouldn’t be appropriate.’ King commented. 

‘ I don’t mind.’ Deer grinned, she will never miss a chance to pry on King. 

‘ Don’t be coy, King. Your boyfriend doesn’t mind.’ Kaido commented, his facial expression shows that he is pleased by Deer's quick help on his toxic reaction. 

‘ He is not my boyfriend.’ King clarified. 

‘ Well, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever young people identify yourself with these days.’ Kaido waved his hand to dismiss the matter.  
  
‘ Don’t fuck too loud.’ Kaido winked and gave a thumbs up to King, and Deer can tell King was on the verge of punching Kaido and black him out again.

Located at a large annex in the North of Onigashima garden, King’s apartment is glisteningly cleaned without the tiniest bit of dust. With a wide window-door that gives a paranormal view to the garden, the only thing that indicates someone is living in there is the neatly folded blankets, the perfectly ironed dress shirt in front of the door, and the stack of aged books by the corner. But even then it still looks like some sort of half-abandoned apartment than a bedroom. 

‘ You can sleep here tonight. I will stand by and wake you up in case Kaido requires your assistance.' King commented as he uncomfortable stood by the corner, his hand folding against his chest. 

‘ Do you not sleep at all?' Deer asked as she took off her silk pants, and King quickly turned his head to look at the window, his mouth once again complaining about how 'inappropriate' she is behaving. 

_You literally tasted my punna before_. Deer thought, her brain fails to apprehend his thinking process.King has technically never seen her naked, but she is not naked: she still has her undershirt on, and underneath it is her negligee -- not exactly appropriate clothing, but King has seen her in that enough to refrain himself from the unnecessary coyness. 

' I slept four hours per day. I hate sleeping - it is a waste of time.' King commented as he squatted down to pick up her pants, his hand folding it in a cornered fold. Ever mischievous, Deer took off her undershirt and threw it straight to King's head, which made King gruntled and complained about her untidiness as he folded it into another perfect square. 

_Wonder if he sleeps with his mask on_. Deer entertained with the thought of King sleeping in stripped pyjamas with a gimp mask briefly before shifting her attention to something else. Not ready for bed and curious as a cat, Deer picked on a book lying on top of the stack and sat next to the window, fully ready to investigate how does King's private life look. _  
  
Medival Torture: Myth or Facts_, the leather bounded book reads, and underneath it is a newly published book with colorful prints.  
  
 _Basic Kanoian 101._

' Are you learning Kanoian ?' She picked up the book and noticed it was filled with yellow stickies and dog ears. _He is a serious learner_.

' Don't touch my books, Duchess.' King ordered as he snatched the book away and hid it inside one of his pockets; despite the tightness of his leather pants, his pants actually have a lot of practical pockets. 

' I can help you practice, ' She petted on the spot next to her, her head tilted a little. ' But you need to pay by being my personal chair.' 

Complaining in his low mumble, King nonetheless sat behind her and passed her his book, and Deer quickly shoved her body inside his embrace. With her head lying on his chest and her legs between his, combined with the odd autumn wind that occasionally brushes against her cheek, the night in Onigashima, the place with the highest concentration of perverts, aggressors, and freaks, is surprisingly peaceful and comfortable. 

Probably because Deer is also one of the perverts, aggressors, and freaks. 

' Introduce yourself in Kanoian?' She asked as she breathes in the glittery smoke. 

King attempted slowly, his accent foreign and his tone unexpectedly soft. Never heard him speaking in such a tone -- he tends to speak in a definite, certain manner in common tongue -- Deer felt her knees slightly weakened. It is as if they are speaking a language that only belongs to them, delivered only in meaningless words and soft whispers. 

' Good.' Deer commented authoritatively. Deer in fact has a very limited Kanoian background: she has stopped speaking in Kanoian ever since her dad died in a freak accident (killed by a deflected bullet from the parade), but she will just act like she is a native Kanoian to entertain King.

' What is that ?' She pointed at the tree sitting in the middle of the moss lawn. 

' Shu.' He said after a brief moment of digestion. 

' And this?' She pointed at herself. 

' Deer.' He said in the common tongue. Just like _Dear_. 

' No no, it is pronounced as De-er, not deer like the animal. But I suppose the word Deer does make one felt beloved. ' She observed his jawline as she twirled her tongue to make an R sound. Even with the gimp mask on, it is easy to tell King has a definite jawline with sharp features. She wonders why does no one ever notices his gracefulness.  
  
 _Probably because not a lot of people have a gimp fetish. Do I have a gimp fetish?_ Her eyes widened as she pondered on this newfound possibility.   
  
' Say you look beautiful.' Deer ordered as she tapped the excessive dust off her cigarette, her ear half expecting King to brush the demand off with a gruntle or another ' Shut up'. He is often quite obedient when it comes to her command -- like some sort of a loyal canine -- and he will only reject if it is too ridiculous or embarrassing. 

' You look beautiful, De'er.' King commented, and Deer felt a slight heat rushed to her ear tip. 

' In Kanoian.' She demanded, and this time he knocked on her head instead.   
  
' You sound cute when you speak Kanoian.' She readjusted her back to a more comfortable position. His body was warm and stern, not as good as Deer's bed, but perhaps a feasible alternative for lonely nights. 

' No one has ever called me _that_.' King remarked, referring to the fact that Deer referring him, a menacing figure that has murdered a lot of people and feared by a lot of mafias or law enforcement, as cute. 

' No one has ever called my mess glittery as well, guess we are now even.' She said as she purred out another puff of blue smoke: glittery and perishable, the mist of turquoise descended and disappear to nowhere. 

_Even your mess seems glittery_.  
  
King's off-hand compliment from a long time ago somehow haunts her heart. No one has ever said that to her: the nun said she can save Deer from the uninhibited sins by prayer (which made Deer frowned in horror), and her ex-lover, Smoker, told her she is by nature unlovable. She still remembers how Smoker delivers it: she suggests to visit his home town, Logue town, over the bank holiday (even toxicologist need a break). Smoker said it is not a good idea because they are not _close_ even though they are naked on the same bed.   
  
_We are not lovers, Deer._ Smoker said, in his pitiful eyes and culpable gaze. _You are to catastrophic to be loved_.   
  
Nearly all lovers of Deer are aware of her flaws enough to refrain from loving her wholly, and she simply stopped showing that part of her -- the part that is desperately craving for affections, the unstable part that is violent and absolutely vulgar --in order to be loved.  
  
But King is an outlier: he liked every part of her: sickly, hopelessly, and obsessively.  
  
To distract herself from her thought, she flipped the book in her hand to find another distraction. Her lips uncontrollably curved up when she saw King bookmarked words such as 'Dinosaur', ' Hello', 'Thank you', 'Cats' and ' Pretty': he even drew a poorly drawn shape next to ' Kong Long (Dinosaur)'. 

' What is that?' She pointed at the weird shape as she tries to hold down her laugh, and King mumbled that it is Pteranodon. It is his favourite dinosaurs, he added, because he remembers reading about them in a book when he was young. 

' How about cats -- why do you like them?' Deer wondered. She did notice a book about cat body language deep inside the stack of books, and she suspects King only picked that book for a book deal or intended to use it as a doorstop. 

' Sometimes I just like things because I like them.' He said as he meets with her curious gaze. With his lashes casting light shade on his eyes, the darting pairs of vermillion rubies are laced with a sort of suppressed affection and reserved softness.   
  
_Damn, he is handsome._

' Have you been to the Orient before?' feeling her heartbeat raising, Deer asked a question to distract herself. His piercing gaze often made her feel dizzy and smitten, and she tends not, or attempted not, to show that side of her to King as well.  
  
King replied that he has only been to Wano once. He likes the cherry trees and plum sake, but he has his reservation over shaved ice ( it is hard to remove syrup stain from his mask). He does not necessarily like Wano, but he found the traditional tea ceremony incredibly amusing. In fact, he was so amused by it that he once refrained from burning a temple just for their inspiring tea practice.  
  
 _How gracious._

' Do you like Kano?' King asked, his back sitting straight despite they have been in the same position for an hour. 

' Sort of -- it is utterly beautiful, powerful, but incredibly damned. The Emperor is the son of God, living behind the red-brick walls and golden roof, it is lucky if he is good and normal if he is a tyrant. Life does not worth much in there as well: I have once seen an albino peacock eating a young princess corpse with no one betting an eye.' She replied, her thought temporarily drawn back to her far away past.   
  
' Perfect for a short stay but disastrous in a long run.' She remarked. _Kind of like me,_ she thought. Realising she has spoken too much -- she is rather private, so private that she sometimes forgot about her own thought -- Deer decided to change the conversation towards another direction. 

' Do you remember anything about your home?' She asked. 

' Nothing coherent.' King replied. ' But I remember the weather is dry and it always smells like wheat. I kind of like it there.' 

' Maybe we can find that place one day.' Deer smiled. ' I will then call that my home as well; it sounds much lovelier than Kano.'   
  
Noticing the slight boundary issue in her sentence, Deer pursed her lips. _Why are you so stupid, now King would just push you away and tell you we are not lovers_.  
  
 _Just like Smoker._  
  
 _Fucking idiot._  
  
And yet, King only chuckled, their position remains intimate.  
  
' I would love that.' He replied in his deep voice.   
  
_I would love that_ , a simple curse that suddenly made Deer's nose sour and her eyes teary. It is the types of tears that unexpectedly emerge in one's eyes, and Deer was not quite sure why she is crying. Deer is a cry baby -- she has never tried to hide it (she has embraced it so fully that she once cried after watching an episode of Spongebob in the Oxton library) -- but she had never cried for positive reasons. The idea of crying due to happiness or heart-warmth is such a foreign concept that she thought she might be sick, and she blamed her new drug formula for this peculiar emotional reaction.   
  
' Your cigarette smells different.' Unaware of her change of emotion, King commented. 

' I changed the formula, it is poison-free this time.' Deer blew out another glittery smoke as she wiped away those excessive tears. ' Want to try?'   
  
She raised her pale hand to meet with King's lips, and ever curious, the giant wrapped his hand around hers as he tilted forward; but rather than putting the cigarette through his mask, he pressed his lips against the back of her hand. Even with the mask dividing their touch, Deer could felt the rough shape and slight warmth of his lips, and she cannot help but giggle at his sudden movement.   
  
' This is not smoking.' She complained, but she did not wiggle her hand away, nor did King try to let go of her. He continued to kiss the back of her hand, his other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. The moon was white as a night pearl, and with King's warm body against hers, she only wishes the night could last a little longer, and King would hug her a little tighter. _  
_

' Did you just get hard?' Deer commented as she felt a bulge poking her lower back.  
  
' It is a natural reaction given my point of view, your skin exposure, and our physical proximity.' King explained. Based on his habit of explaining sexual moment in an absolutely precise manner, it is certainly a waste that he did not become a coroner or doctor.   
  
' Right, I am going to sleep now.' Deer pulled his arms closer as she snuggled inside his embrace. Her lower spine can feel the bulge grew larger as her breast slightly brushed against his arm, and King shivered as her movement accidentally revealed more part of her bare legs.  
  
' Are you going to remain in this position for the rest of the night?' King asked, his body stiffened.   
  
' Correct.' She smiled as she shut her eyes.   
  
' I cannot relief myself if you sleep in this way.' King observed.   
  
' Also correct.' She affirmed. It is always fun to irritate King.   
  
' Goodnight, Duchess.’ King sighed, his tone indicating he gave up on the idea of self-loveing tonight, his arms still wrapped against hers. 

‘ Goodnight, King.’ She nestled her head against his chest, her ear quietly listening to his heartbeat like she is counting sheep.   
  
_His heartbeat was fast._  
  
And so was hers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) sUbVeRtinG exPeCtAtioNs by making King as sweet as possible; but they cannot be too sweet because both of them are adult and rather perverted ¯\\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ 
> 
> (2) The scene is heavily influenced by twittering birds never fly because I lack creative juice.


	6. For the sake of it

Deer realised she is probably in love with King as she reached orgasm by riding the cut of ruggedness known as Katakuri Charlotte.  
  
And by love, Deer really meant the idea of potentially forming an attachment with slight exclusivity to the person. For her, it is the closest thing to the concept of Love. 

She came to this thought because, despite her physical attraction towards Katakuri — sharp plum eyes, hardened features, and a masculine body — she was thinking of King when she reaches euphoria in her loins. She was imagining King's tight grip on her soft thigh as her lower region uncontrollably contracted, her mind automatically replaced the maroon head with King's masked face, and the sheer thought of King's burgundy eyes looking at her is enough to make her ecstatic. 

The idea of conventional love tends to petrify Deer, and therefore it takes such an unconventional method to make her notice that she is probably, or most definitely, in love with a man that is known as a ‘gimp pervert’ among his colleagues. 

The _Eros_ works in a very mysterious way. 

‘ Fuck,’ Deer cupped the man’s face with her palms, the strap of her La Perla negligee fell onto her elbow and exposed the kissing mark he left on her pale breast. She looked into the crimsons eyes, her thigh still trembling from their active movement. ‘ I might be in love with someone. ’   
  
‘ Oh, congratulation.’ Katakuri paused for a while, his eyes looked into Deer’s in a way that she cannot quite comprehend. It was lust with a mixture of disappointment, but Katakuri hid it so well that it is ridiculously hard to detect.  
  
‘ Shall we do one more round then, for the sake of it?’ He asked. 

' For the sake of it.' Deer pushed her lips against his as she tasted the minty flavor inside his mouth; his hands, calloused yet gentle, grabbed her bosom as he stood up, his phallus, still filling and hot, grew even larger as they kissed further.  
  
Katakuri was good, he is always good when it comes to sex, work, life, and almost everything.   
  
Katakuri is perfect, and yet she still cannot stop but thinking of King. 

_Oh fuck, I must really love King._

Katakuri Charlotte is, for a lack of a better term, Deer’s seasonal lover. Living in Viennoiserie across the sea, Katakuri comes to Lothiam occasionally ( sometimes in the summer, never in spring and always in winter), and they would always stay in Claridges and have marathon like sex for at least three days whenever he is in town. Deer is not very keen on having sex with a fixed partner — she believes having sex with the same man for more than once would form unnecessarily attachment — but Katakuri is so physically compatible that she choose to take that risk.

Their relationship begins when he came to her apartment for scar treatment ( He wishes to remove the scar, Deer gasped at how handsome he looks and it made him blush), blossomed when they discover their mutual interest for doughnuts ( They would explore the best doughnut places together), and matured when they reunited in a clubhouse in Viennoiserie during winter. Initially a ‘ drug-inspiration-trip’, it turned into a sexual adventure inside Katakuri’s elegantly maintained apartment as soon as the two met in the public toilet. 

It is still a drug-inspiration trip _per se_ : She was so inspired by their coitus that she even named a drug after him. A mix of pearl white, sugared violet and mermaid scale, it is a dopamine enhancement drug called ‘ _Dog tooth’._

Deer considers toxicology to be an art, and she is very much the _Raphael_ of drug making.

Weirdly enough, despite her general cautiousness when approaching relationship, Deer trusts Katakuri. There is no shocking turn of events or some move like accidents that made her trust him: it just comes naturally — Deer Shang trust Katakuri Charlotte, and in return, Katakuri Charlotte is comfortable enough to not wear his mask around her. 

In fact, if it weren’t for King, Deer might have developed a relationship with Katakuri. 

King is a peculiar person. His pragmatic and laconic personality somehow masked his social dysfunction, and his awkward yet affectionate movements made Deer feels like life is worth living after all. The way he looks at her whenever he thought she is not looking, and the occasional sweet thoughts that he slips through his tongue, his words and actions all hit the right spot and fill her cold dead heart with a warm fuzzy. But before King, it is Katakuri, with his extraordinary sexual compatibility and genteel demeanor, that made her commit less of the reckless action than those that her brain suggested. 

Deer used to think ‘ _If you die you won't get fucked by Katakuri again’_ , but now it has evolved to ‘ _I want to fuck King’_ , with other things such as dim sum or Inland Revenue Ordinance (she often forgot to pay tax) occasionally occupy her mind. 

Both are sexually driven, but that is just how Deer Shang operates as a person. 

Beneath his suave outlook, stalwart personality, and perhaps alternatively handsome features, Katakuri is troubled. Of course, everyone is troubled in their own charming ways, but the Charlottes, one of the most established families in Viennoiserie, seems to be so dysfunctional that it caused him to develop an Oedipus complex. Everyone in the Lothiam knows about the Charlottes -- Lin Lin Charlotte, the matriarch of the family, turned herself from a mafia to an OBE, with the whole clan converted to an intelligence and secrets trading powerhouse that dominates the whole region. Each of Charlotte's children is rumored to possess some sort of brilliant mind with a cursed flaw. And for Katakuri his flaw is rooted in his need for a motherly figure rather than his face -- his needs for mother's love is most evident in Katakuri’s preferred position: sucking on Deer’s breasts (soft and barely handful like a baby dove) whilst she uses her hand to relief him. It does not take Lucian Freud to untangle the logic behind this preference, and it is often seen as a tabooed or weird position for most. But luckily for Katakuri, Deer is not exactly a conventional person when it comes to sex; rather, she is extremely liberal when it comes to sex.  
  
Her _normal_ is performing cunnilingus underneath a neon cross which earned her the title of ' Deer the _Pious_ ', but that's a topic for another night. 

Their activity, regardless of whether it started with them standing up or sitting down (never, ever, laying down), always ends with them sitting on the sofa, with Katakuri’s heavy head lying on her thighs, her hand touching his face and whispering sweet nothing to his pointed ears. Katakuri would blush whenever she calls him a good boy, and his smile, slightly curved up at the corners and tucked behind those four sharp teeth, is so sweet that it always melt her cold dead heart. 

‘ My mama once said that I have a face that even a mother cannot love.’ Katakuri confessed as her dainty finger caressed his maroon hair. ‘ Do you think I can ever be loved?’  
  
The desperation to be loved by a motherly figure, the century-old problem that exists among the troupe of posh public schoolboys raised by a stern nanny, and the irony of the deeply vile Deer Shang consulting someone as noble as Katakuri the doughnut man. 

‘ Of course.’ Deer smiled. His hair is soft and wet, which reminds her of the Sharpei dog that she used to own when she was in the Forbidden City. ‘ Given you are loved by every single one of your siblings, I suppose it meant that you are, by virtue, lovable.’ 

‘ It is a different kind of love.’ He dismissed, but his tone suggests he is slightly relieved. 

‘ My ex-lover told me once that I am too inauspicious to be loved. He didn’t exactly use that word, of course, he has a very limited vocabulary. ’ Deer said as she moved to touch his scar, her eyes looked down to met with his plum eyes. ' It is also obviously not true because I am a dazzling delight. The same applies to you -- you are too lovely to be unlovable.'   
  
' You don't have to say that.' Katakuri smiled slightly, his tone shows that he is not totally convinced.  
  
'But I meant every word I say.' She trilled as brushed his hair. Deer have never done something as trite as saying something to make one feels comfortable, and she wholeheartedly found Katakuri Charlotte handsome. It is not even the type of handsome that one develops as one knows him as a person, no, it is the type of handsome that is simply physical and hormonal. With his wide smile, fair skin, aggressive eyes, and irresistible boyish charm that lingers in between, Katakuri reminds one of a shark. Deer even liked his scars: she thinks they made his otherwise banally handsome face interesting, and his scars are the reasons why she is drawn to him in the first place.  
  
' Who is your ex-lover? He sounds rather daft. ' Katakuri wondered.   
  
' Some special agent called Smoker. Ghastly fellow, really. And the fact that he actually smokes a lot makes him more hideous.' Deer answered.   
  
After all, there is nothing more tragic than a handsome face with a chalk-like personality.   
  
Deer have never told anyone about Smoker, but given this is the last time she would have any intimacy with Katakuri, she supposes it is safe to confess (There is nothing as safe as confessing a deep secret to a stranger). 

When Deer was young — year three in Oxton, with untamed madness accompanied by seemingly never-ending youth — she was approached (or coerced) by CP-0 to develop NCH-9. They have assigned Smoker as her monitor due to her uninhibited nature; and, given Smoker is objectively attractive, Deer fell for him. There was some unresolved Daddy issue in there, of course, but such matter shall be left with Sigmund Freud rather than a poorly educated writer. 

As with all young maiden who first fell for someone, Deer developed a sort of distorted mental dependency despite their relationship being mainly physical. Smoker’s cruel remark rendered Deer speechless; it was not even heat of the moment argument, it is simply a comment in a post-coitus chat. She often thinks it is perhaps the lovelessness that made Smoker refuse to help her escape when she found out NCH-9 is a tool to facilitate insurgency within Kano. Instead, Smoker reported her and imprisoned her in the Impel Down laboratory like a lab monkey ( but she did gain a weird friendship with Magellan for their mutual love on poisons). And, rather than letting her live her life as agreed, after the development, they force overdosed her on NCH-9, and Smoker was the executioner of it. 

Talk about a bad romance.   
  
' I certainly hope you wouldn't refer to me as your ghastly lover in the future.' Katakuri commented.   
  
‘No, I will refer you as a _handsome shark_. A _lovable handsome shark_.’ Deer smiled as she traced the well-sculpted line of Katakuri’s nose, and he smiled sheepishly.   
  
' Who is the person you fall in love with, may I ask?' He wondered, he is extra curious tonight, and Deer is extra gracious because it is the last night.   
  
' A violent gimp.' She replied. It is technically the truth, although she was not sure if King loves her or if she truly loves him — it is a big word and a difficult concept to grasp — but she is partially willing to take the risk of trying to face her affection towards King.   
  
' Sounds charming.' Katakuri replied drily. ' Feel honored to be defeated by such a beau.'   
  
' There is no such thing as defeated when it comes to romance.' Deer giggled a little.  
  
' You are a good boy, Katakuri.’ Sensing the slight melancholiness from his tone, she leaned down to kiss on his forehead. _Good boy_ is the trigger word for him, and she knows he will always be happy whenever he was called that. Katakuri is like a Pavlovian dog, only with a better fate but the same predictability. ‘ A very good boy. Never forgot about that.’ 

As predicted, two spread of rosy pink appeared on top on his cheekbones, detectable even under the pale blue shades of the night. 

‘ Maybe we could have loved each other.’ Katakuri whispered softly, half wanting Deer to hear, but half too shy to let anyone eavesdrops it. 

_Maybe. Very likely.  
  
' _It is not a good idea -- I am a terrible person.' Deer brushed off the melancholic remark with a self-deprecating joke. There is no point to plant that possibility in Katakuri. It would be cruel, and Deer Shang is trying not to be too cruel these days. 

‘ You are pretty decent in my standard.’ Katakuri said sincerely. 

‘ You must have a terribly low standard.’ Deer gasped dramatically.  
  
Both of them laughed at the same moment and kissed again, both fully aware that there will never be another ' _again'_ again. 

Normally Deer would stay over until the next morning, where they would have breakfast in the bistro nearby (brilliant pancakes and perfectly strong coffee) and departed with a light kiss. But given their circumstances, Deer decided to leave after he fell asleep — she felt there is some sort of an unresolved romance between them, and it is perhaps best for her to disappear than to linger any further. Katakuri also agreed: to quote his words, _it would be difficult if you stayed until the morning_. 

Refusing Katakuri’s offer to driver her or order a cab, Deer decided to go to the 24 hours supermarket in Little Kano to buy groceries. She noticed that King has put a lot of bookmarks on the food pages in his ‘ _Kanoian for dummies_ ’ textbook, and she thought it might be fun to make dumplings with him tomorrow night. 

Ah, the power of love: makes one give up on alternatives and be more attentive. 

‘ Zhong — what do you need to make a dumpling?’ Deer spoke to the phone as she stood by the isles, her brain failed to understand any word printed on the packages. 

‘ You don't make _a_ dumpling, you make dumpling _s_ , plural.’ Zhong said in his half awaken voice, his teeth hissing on the 's' sound. ' Also please don't cook, _Gege_ \-- you are terrible at it.' 

‘ What do you mean? I am brilliant at cooking.’ Deer sang. ‘Did you not finish the walnut cookies I baked last time?’ 

‘ I used them to feed the raccoons in the bin area.’ Zhong reported. ‘ I think they either died collectively or are scared of the inhumane smell, but they are gone. Your cooking is a very effective pest killer, Gege.’ 

_Bloody little shit_. She cut off the phone as she looked at the prepackaged dumpling wrapper on the other aisle. _Gonna make him my next white mouse for SAD._

For the past few years of her semi-functional adulthood, it is Zhong, her butler that helps with her domestic affairs. Trafficked to the New World from the edge of Kano, they met each other in Sabody when Deer decided to buy an ex SWAT dog and accidentally stumbled upon him. With Zhong’s pale face, large eyes, and Kanoian origin, Deer's heart softened and bought him with a meth formula instead ( The formula is in fact a bomb formula and it is her way of disrupting the human trafficking market), and they have developed a kind of dependable relationship that built upon hurtful banters and witticisms. 

He is an eloquent servant by all means, just not necessarily the most honey-tongued one. 

Just as Deer were to ask the assistant for help ( ' Actually what is a dumpling?') , she realised that the supermarket has turned eerily quiet: the long-handed tribe middle age man that is always around the corner is gone, and the cashier is empty with no one dozing near the pile of dated lotus cake. 

_Something is wrong._ Deer thought, but at the same time, she also has a great urge to make a lame ‘ Then I guess I don’t need to pay’ joke just for the sake of it. Before she could have rung the bell in the cashier, she felt someone moving behind, and she reflectively pulled out the gun hidden inside her garment. 

One thing about wearing Kanoian male garment is it has a lot of hidden pockets, including a whole pocket deep enough to carry a gun. 

_It is empty_ , noticing the lightweight of her gun, Deer internally cursed. _Fucking hell why did I empty my gun._   
  
She wanted to change all those bullets with a new toxic lead bullet in one evening, but she fell asleep halfway then simply forgot about that afterward. She is not exactly a careful person (hence explains why she is in top ten percent in Oxton and not top one just like her friend Law Trafaglar). 

Standing behind her is a tall, slender man in brown hair and a pink shirt, his face tattooed with orange and red rectangular streaks that went straight from his forehead to his chin; next to him is a short boy in shaggy blonde hair and high heels, his teeth sharp with his smile widened to an unnatural grin. 

It is the Doquixotes mafia, and nothing good ever comes out of the Doquixotes mafia. 

‘ _Hola mi amigos_ — Oomph. ‘ Deer opened her embrace to greet her danger (she has the tendency to embrace every danger in a comedic, almost satire-like cheerful manner) but her passionate greeting was returned with a sharp, harsh punch on her stomach. She curled down slightly as she looked up, her face squeezed out a smile. 

‘ You don’t have to punch me just because my Dressorosian is terrible.’ Deer complained, clearly missing the point of why the Donquixotes are here. 

‘ Doffy needs to see you, Doctor.’ The blonde said, his manicured hand covering his mouth as he let out of an uncontrollable smile. ‘ He said it is urgent.’ 

‘ There is a great invention called a phone call. Have you ever heard of that?’ Deer remarked in the most sincere tone she could have faked.   
  
' He said it is about the drug.' The blonde said as he grabbed her hand and tied it with a plastic strap.   
  
' _Which_ drug?' Deer asked. She has been involved in so much trouble that lost count of her actions. She was once wrongly kidnapped for a synthetic MDMA that she did not develop, and both her and the Blackbeard gang found it hilarious after a severe beating.   
  
Good times. 

‘ We are here because of SAD.’ Diamante finally spoke. 

‘Oh.’ Deer smiled. 

_Oh fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I originally wrote Katakuri as the main character with King a minor character, but I think King deserves some love and radically changed it. Still love Katakuri gotta squeeze him here
> 
> (2) I often think people tend to have flaws -- that what makes one a human -- and therefore I have added mummy fetish on Katakuri the perfect mochi boi ( ಠ ͜ʖಠ)


	7. Pasty Pixie Dream Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never expected this to get 200+ views omg ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ) so touched! 
> 
> Love you little pervs

King is irritated.  
  
King is irritated by the fact that he cannot stop thinking of Deer Shang. Even when she is not around, she would disrupt his thought with her soft skin and small bones, glittering cheeks, and cat-like moan, with the rest of his brain filled with warming words that she unintentionally uttered ( ' I will call it as my home as well', what a flirt). As glistening and shimmering as it sounds, all these sprinkles only reduce his work performance.  
  
And it is problematic because King hates deficiency.  
  
That is what one might call falling in love, but King was so terrible with emotions that he thought he might have grown insane. Due to his upbringing, he has a tendency to hide his feeling under his stern face, and he hides it so well that he sometimes forgot how to distinguish those emotions.  
  
Frustrated, King grabbed Umit’s greasy face with one hand and smashed it to the steel wall, the man let out of a groan as he tries to hit King with his struggling hands. King is, as usual, in the Chlorine and Sodium Hypochlorite reeking Slaughterhouse, killing someone for the sake of killing some time. Today's target is Umit, one of those shipping magnates that reroute weapons for the Hyakujuu yet dare to lot against Kaido. Never tolerate a traitor, Kaido deemed him as unworthy and therefore must be removed.   
  
Just as King was going to snap his neck, his phone started vibrating, and the music of _Hallelujah_ blasted out from one of the numerous pockets in his pants.   
  
_The baffled king composing Hallelujah.Hallelujah, Hallelujah  
_  
‘ Where are you? You are the trianglist, you are supposed to perform with us tonight.’ Queen’s screamed from the phone, his tone reminds one of a wife trapped in a non-flourishing relationship which made King reflectively frowned. He always frowns when he heard Queen's disgustingly low voice.   
  
King was involuntarily dragged to the Hyajukuu’s corporate band for ‘team-building’ purpose. Despite being an avid piano player, Queen has assigned him as the trianglist because his classical music preference is, apparently, not ‘ funky’ enough. And with Queen doing all the singing and dancing, Who's who playing the bass and Jack playing the drums, King was assigned to play the triangle like some sort of a monk.   
  
The worst thing is King does not actually hate being the trianglist -- he just hates Queen's funky music.   
  
‘ I got work.’ King said, his grip tightened as Umit tries to gasp for air inside King's leathered grip.  
  
‘ What work — you are with the pasty doctor, right? That is NOT work.’ Queen complained, and King heard Jack’s idiotic voice mumbling ‘pastry doctor’ in the background like it is some sort of a question.  
  
 _I am surrounded by fucking idiots._  
  
‘ I am on a task.’ King answered matter of factly.  
  
‘Listen, gimp perv, you better — ‘ Losing his patience, King simply cut Queen off in the middle of the conversation, and his attention shifted back to Umit, who is, by all means, not necessarily a more pleasant figure. He would much rather be in Deer's red velveted apartment helping her to paint her toes in the shade of Burgundy than to do anything else.  
  
Even the thought of touching her feet makes King feel slightly better.  
  
He snugged the phone back into his pocket and stretched his neck, his hand back to snap Umit's neck in half to ensure he can use his whole head for later usage.  
  
Just as he was going to continue his task, the familiar lyrics of Hallelujah rang again.  
  
 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Halleluja._  
  
 _Bloody hell._  
  
‘ This better be an emergency.’ King said tartly.  
  
‘ Why don’t you come, big brother —‘ Jack voice whispered, and King he took a deep breath and pressed on the red button, his mind forcing himself to refrain from snapping the phone to half. And just as he tightened his grip further, the theme of _Hallelujah_ rang again.  
  
King tends not to play with his victim for this long, and at this point he has simply lost all his patience.   
  
’For fuck sake, go ahead with your gig you contemptible fool.’ King barked, his hand shoved Umit’s head entirely against the wall and turning half of his face into pulp. With the dangling man mumbling underneath the dying breathe, King looked at him apathetically.  
 _  
Still got half._  
  
‘ Doflamingo wants to meet with you, King-sama.’ Bao Huang trembling voice appeared. She has seen King getting angry before, but she never expected he would be this angry just by the first call; he tends to be quite calm to his subordinates.  
  
‘ In the _Flamingo_ in Acaia.' She added.   
  
‘Why.’ King frowned.  
  
King hates a lot of things: drivel, lateness, ostentatiousness, and vainness, and Doflamingo Donquixote tend to embraces all of the above samples.Besides, King always hated the liberal, palmy atmosphere in the Acaia area -- he found it as dreadful as Alabasta (black leather is not very heat resistant).  
  
‘ He said he has Deer Shang.’ Bao reported.  
  
‘ …okay.’ King replied calmly, but his hand shoved Umit’s entire head against the wall, the clash so strong that it made the pathetically small head burst. The bearded man's smelly blood and sticky brain splashed to his suit, leaving a huge red mark on the steel wall and a headless body lying on the plastic wrap floor.   
  
_I might have been too forceful._ He thought as he stares at the bloody batter on the floor, his hand took out a handkerchief to wipe out the excessive blood. _Why am I miscalculating?  
  
_ And then, as he was looking at the headless body, King finally came to the realisation that he is in love with Deer Shang.  
  
 _That’s why._  
  
As one always says, we all find love in the most peculiar place.   
  
By the time King’s leather boots arrived the _Flamingo_ , one of those unamusing bars with peach beige wallpaper and football game forever playing in the background, he was so focused on the thought of Deer that he did not notice the customers that fled out as soon as he arrived. In general, it is rather frightening to see a large gimp wondering on the street in the middle of the night, and it is more menacing when it is someone as magnifying as King, and certainly diabolically scary when he is half covered in blood. Ignoring the screams and whispers, he walked past the ghastly pink Rolls Royce and mustangs parked in the corner ( Doflamingo likes to tell everyone he has arrived) and opened the Neo signed door behind the bar, his eyebrows once again frowned.  
  
 _Ghastly feather._  
  
Doflamingo was sitting in the middle of the room, his smile wide yet slightly jerked as soon as he saw King’s expression. Even with the sunglasses covering his face, King can detect a hint of nervousness underneath a facade of confidence.

‘ I heard you are fucking someone. ’ said Doflamingo as his right feet folded on top of his left knee, his hand twirling a glass of pink champagne.King is never a champagne person — he likes aged burgundy — and therefore he also took a judgemental note of Doflamingo’s tasteless drinks choice.  
  
‘ I am not fucking anyone.’ King replied as he sat on the opposite sofa, his mind wondering whether it is a good thing to disclose his lack of sex life.   
  
‘ Is that why you are fucking with me?’ Doflamingo asked, and King raised his eyebrows.  
  
 _What a line_.  
  
‘ I am not aware of our sexual courtship, Joker.’ King observed. ‘ You are not my type.’  
  
‘ I know, your type is some, what, pasty pixie dream boy? ‘ Doflamingo said as he threw a photo on the desk, his throat angrily chucked down the pink liquid in his hand.  
  
On the table is a picture taken a few weeks ago, with Deer in her latex nun suit and King standing next to her, his hand lighting up her cigarette as his eyes fixated at her face. It is a rather dazzling photo, one that could even be used as some sort of alternative movie cover, but he would not show any expression to avoid anyone thinking he possesses any emotion besides anger.  
  
He is King the Wildfire, the dependable, stoic, and impenetrable man. 

’ A gimp and a Kanoian druggie. Who would have thought? Fufufufufufufu. ’ He let out of a screeching laugh that makes Queen's voice sounds like the Viennoiseres Boys' Choir. ‘ You do know who he _actually_ is, right?’  
  
King does not think the question dignifies any answer, nor does he wants to engage with Doflamingo in a non-work manner. Instead, he glanced at the clock sitting behind Doflamingo, his patience running its end.  
  
‘ He fucked a narc, sold out his own country, then OD-ed on NCH-9.His ex hates him so much that he sends the intel to me voluntarily —that’s what kind of a scum you are screwing, King. A vermin with questionable background and moderately amusing education.’ The man in pink feathered coat grinned, his raspy throat broke into another screeching laughter.  
  
King facial expression remains astute. It is the first time he heard of the information, and he took a mental remark to do due diligence before trusting Doflamingo’s blasphemy.  
  
‘ I don’t have time for chitchat. Cut to the chase. ’ King demanded.  
  
‘ You are basically undercutting our deal because you are fucking with some twink, King. ’ Doflamingo said as he tightened his grip around his Champagne flute. ‘ In case you forgot, we got a deal: I produce SMILE, and the Hyajukuu supplies us with weapons.’  
  
‘You can still produce SAD, we will just not pay for your formula. The deal is still on the table.’ King observed, his calming tone and logical rebuttal agitates Doflamingo even further.  
  
' The point in here is you guys are undercutting me based on who you are fucking.' Doflamingo clenched his teeth.  
  
‘ Stop prying on my sex life, Joker. it is deeply unprofessional.’ King commented.  
  
And non-existing.  
  
‘Let's have some rather than driveling, shall we?Bring him in, Diamante.’Feeling insulted, Doflamingo snapped his finger, his eyebrows (or whatever one calls a few wheat blonde hair) frowned further.  
  
Behind the door merge in Deer Shang, in her silk cap and a navy garment, her eyes twinkling and her facial expression relaxed — she often looks relaxed even at the direst situation -- her fox eyes lingered at King for a while before shifting back to Doflamingo, signaling the well-tanned Dressrosian is the main star of tonight’s event.  
  
King did not even flinch. Doflamingo is objectively not a threat: he is not exactly irrational nor idiotic, but his unpredictability does worry him. Albeit shrewd at times, Doflamingo is intrinsically an oversensitive child, and he will get mad when things did not work his way, taking things utterly personal even though the action is purely transactional.  
  
Just like now.  
  
‘ Are you mad because of that one time I ruined your drug delivery system through your pizza joint, or because of that time I miscalculated the aphrodisiac formula and ruined your date with Crocodile? ‘Deer said as she tilted her head, her tone professional yet her intention the complete opposite.'It was a careless mistake, Mr.Doffy. I never meant to make you impotent.'  
  
‘ At least it is temporary.’ She added.  
  
‘ Shut him up.’ Losing his patience, Dolfamingo commanded, and his tall bodyguard heavily slapped on her right cheek, creating a bright red slap on the pale face. King can feel his blood boiled, but his inner voice told him to keep his calm, for he knows that Doflamingo will take King’s weakness as a pressure point. And if he does, it will not be good for Deer and certainly bad for the Hyakujuu.  
  
  
‘ That’s weak foreplay. ’ Seems not to be hurt in the slightest, Deer remarked, and Diamante instantly slapped the other side of her soft face, the strike is so hard that it made Deer lose her hat and exposed the hair braid she had underneath the hat.   
  
‘ You really should shut up sometime.’ King observed, and Deer chuckled as a strand of blood start flowing out of her narrow nostril. She seems to be used to it, or at least she has been slapped enough to not quite care about the pain.  
  
After all, she grew up being tortured, and slapping is indeed weak foreplay according to Kanoian Imperial standard.   
  
‘ Why on earth are you kidnapped by _them_.’ King added, his tone clearly not even seeing the Donquixote as a legitimate threat.  
  
‘ I am a deliciously feeble doctor. Anyone can kidnap me — in fact, everyone would love to kidnap me.’ Deer protested, and Diamante, who has a fair amount of bruise and bite marks on his face, shook his head in disagreement.  
  
‘If your whole operation was ruined by _this_ , Joker, you should reflect on yourself.’ King commented as he shifted back to Doflamingo, who is holding a champagne flute so tightly that it almost clashes it.  
  
‘ Funny comment coming from someone who operates based on _flavour of the month_.’ Doflamingo clenched, a small vein popped up on his tanned forehead.‘That’s not very kingly of you, isn’t it?’  
  
Albeit creative, King did not respond to his pun.  
  
' Let me clarify it for you, halfwit.’ Sighed King. ‘ First, Ceaser has been delaying the SAD development for two years. Your DF compound development is lackluster and sub-par.' King raised his index finger, then he raised his middle one. ' Two, whatever you do to _him_ meant virtually nothing to me. We don’t care for weaklings.’ King lied, but his face is so stoic that people often found his bluff convincing. ‘ But he is a Hyajukuu member, and we care for disrespect.’  
  
King paused to look at Deer, then he shifted his head to Doflamingo again.  
  
‘ So by all means, taking the factors into consideration, go ahead on whatever you plan to do if you think it is wise.’ King gestured his hand to indicate it is Doflamingo's turn. King knows that Doflamingo might not fear King, but he is so afraid of Kaido that it might snap him out of his irrationality.   
  
‘ Cut her.’taking King’s nonchalant manner as a game of brinkmanship, Doflamingo smirked.  
  
 _Fuck, wrong calculation.  
  
Fuck._  
  
Upon hearing the response, the large brunette gashed the knife into Deer’s little finger, and the sudden cut made her face twitched a little. The blade started slashing the forward and backward, and yet Deer did not scream nor shout; rather, the pair of fox eyes were staring at nowhere in particular, and the room slumped into a painfully awkward silence.  
  
Seems have caught King's gaze, Deer blinked slowly. Having read a book on cat language, King understood that cat tends to blink slowly to indicate they feel safe,and the small movement somehow marginally calmed King.  
  
Without further instruction to stop him, Diamente proceeds to cut her second finger. This time Deer mumbled they should probably cut the other hand to even the fingers out, but neither Deer nor King made any emotional reaction that Doflamingo yearns for, and the room plummeted into another wave of sepulchral silence.  
  
‘ You know what, Diamonte, stop the finger.’ Ordered Doflamingo as his smile turned deeper. ' Cut her face instead.' _  
  
_And this time, King’s eyes twitched microscopically. Fingers are re-attachable, but the face could be quite damning. His brain quickly came up with possible solutions to this situation: he can always kill him along with the rest of the Donquixote, but they still need his factory to produce SAD and Doflamingo's network to distribute drugs.  
  
He cannot eradicate Doflamingo as he did to Umit: no, he needs to break the pink bird until he can no longer bite.   
  
_Stay calm, King._  
  
King thought as he looked at Deer again, his movement reflective rather than calculated -- he always seeks for her when they are in the same room.  
  
She is his anchor, his canopy, his everything.  
  
And the pair of fawn eyes simply slowly blinked again. Sometimes King would find his interaction with Deer similar to that of Kaido: the same mind without the need to talk, only he does not has any sexual intention towards Kaido and a lot towards Deer.  
  
The no-homo in bromance is implied in Kaido.  
  
Diamante quickly drew out a thin line of blood on her demsek complexion, blood started emerging from her feline high of a cheekbone as the cut deepened. Seems to be overwhelmed by the amount of blood, Diamante took it out and wiped it with the edge of his shirt.  
  
 _React.  
  
Kill them. _  
  
' You need to cut 1mm further to really leave a scar on my face, it will definitely be very hard for King.’ Just as King were to leave his seat, Deer broke out of her silence timely, her voice sloaney and articulated as always.  
  
‘ And by that, I meant King will literally get hard.’ Said Deer cheekily, and with her casual quip, King let out of an unprecedented chuckle.  
  
' You guys are fucking weird.' The man in a pink leather overcoat and barely buttoned shirt commented. 

' The gimp suit is indeed a very subtle sign that one might overlook.' Deer jested, and King cannot help but shoot her a judgemental glance.   
  
Don't shame King and don't kink shame.   
  
‘ This is pathetic.’ Kings recollected himself with a dry cough. ‘ Cut this farce, I have a business update to tell you.’   
  
Doflamingo waved his hand to gesture Diamante to stop the torture, and King threw a smelly Family Mart bag on the table. Inside the plastic bag is a mash of skin with torn of meat, all dense and gooey, decorated with nothing but dried blood. King intended to give a whole head to Doflamingo, but given his accident, what left is Umit smudge of a head and a partial amount of brain.  
  
Not like Umit has a full brain to begin with anyway.  
  
' What the fuck is this.' Doflamingo said as he gulped down the glass of champagne to calm himself down, his eyebrows frowned in disgust.   
  
' Umit. We heard he was trying to oust us, so we did some measure.’ Said King as he crossed his legs, his hand folded on top of his knees. ' We mailed the rest of his body to the other accomplice, this is your share. We heard that you are the one directed it.’  
  
' I certainly hope it is misinformation, Joker. It would quite disrespectful if you actually did try to _fuck with_ us.' Said King with sarcasm dripping through his baritone.   
  
The usage of 'Fuck with' is quoted verbatim from the private conversation between Doflamingo and the shipping companies: King, with the help of the headliners ( part of Kings’ security team and act as the eyes and ears of organisation), has planted surveillances in every corner of the Lothiam to ensure the Hyajukuu’s function. Every associate is monitored by them, knowingly or unknowingly.   
  
They are called the Lothiam KGB for a reason.  
  
He could have used the same gadgets to monitor Deer Shang, of course, but he would much preferto observe her in his own eyes rather than the eyes that he owns.  Enlighted by his attempt in humour, Deer's eyes widened in amusement, and Doflamingo smashed his champagne flute to the carpeted floor.   
  
‘ We also made a deal with another armoury broker to share your burden of distributing our products. ’ King announced. He has made the deal as a hedge as soon as he recruited Deer Shang — he knows Doflamingo will try to use it as an excuse to oust Kaido sooner or later.  
  
‘You probably know him. Cigar lover from Alabasta, very focused on money laundering and use an art gallery as a front.’ He paused. ‘ His name is Crocodile.’  
  
The statement is rhetorical, of course: King specifically picked Crocodile because he knows they used to be lovers. It is known secret among those who knows -- Crocodile has the habit of keeping girls around him as the beard -- and despite having no intention to dwell on these personal affairs, King will never miss the chance to psychologically break a traitor.   
  
‘ What’s the distribution.' Avoiding to admit anything with Crocodile, Doflamingo's voice trembled.   
  
‘ 70 percent to you, 30 percent to him, adjustable based on merit.’ King replied.  
  
‘ Did he initiate it, or did you initiate it?’ Doflamingo asked weakly. Despite his smirk and confident undertone, King sensed a certain defeated, and perhaps saddened tone from him.   
  
_Pathetic._  
  
‘ Does it matter?’ Said King as he nodded towards the neon signed door to indicate Deer it is time leave. And as she disappears from his sight, King picked up the silk cap and frontal kicked Diamante to the ground, his feet quickly stepped on his hand and crushed its palm, and the man let out of a groan. Thinking of Deer’s other finger, King stomped on his other hand, and he loudly screamed.   
  
' I will see you in the quarter meeting, Doflamingo.' King twisted his feet to ensure Diamante is in great pain. The bones were broken, King noticed, and if he stepped one more time they will both be shattered.  
  
Splat.   
  
‘Remember, distribution adjustable based on merit.'   
  
As King dragged his feet on the brown carpet to make sure there is no bloodstain left on his beloved boots (the tiresome task of removing bloodstain on the tatami), he found Deer standing by the door, her face dripping in blood as her hand wrapped in a torn cloth, her head tilted slightly and let out of a soft smile.   
  
' You are a bloody terrible person, King.' She said.   
  
' I thought that is why we get along.' King replied drily, and this time, she chuckled.  
  
Ensuring the door is tightly shut ( he can hear the noises of Doflamingo smashing glasses on the floor), he scooped her up and her smile grew even larger.   
  
' Are we going to seek revenge from my ex?' Deer asked, her body naturally collapsed to his.  
  
' No, you need to see a doctor.' King asserted. He wanted to ask about the ex ordeal, but he reckon now is not the time. He is sure there will be a time, but he was not sure how to ask her without sounding interrogative or controlling.  
  
' I am a doctor.' Deer mumbled.   
  
' You need an actual doctor. I saw your Oxton reports, your tutor said you are only 'sporadically brilliant in selective module' and absolutely terrible at everything.' King shot her a critical glance. She must have been extra troublesome to earn that title of being 'absolutely terrible'. 

Deer laughed as she buried her head in his chest, her action reminds King of a cat. With the duchess being unexpectedly coy and effete, King finally finds his shoulder relaxing. The thought of losing Deer is scary, and it is certainly uneasy to see Deer Shang being mildly tortured by someone that is not himself.   
  
How romantic.   
  
' I want to eat strawberry cake, can we stop by the convenient store?' Deer asked.   
  
' No.' King commented.   
  
' How about soy doughnut?' Deer asked again, as if the objective of the issue is the subject of the matter.   
  
' I will buy you one after I dropped you off in the doctor.' King said, finally giving in.   
  
' Strawberry cake and soy doughnut?' Deer suggested.   
  
_What on earth is a soy doughnut._  
  
King internally cursed as he looked down at her face, his eyes giving the duchess one of his judgemental glances to show his discontent. He sighed over why did he always submit to her ridiculous demand, but as soon as the pair of red eyes met with the sweet smile appearing on her full lips, his heart softened.   
  
_Ah, that's why._  



	8. The Pet

There is often a time where one finds themselves struggling whether they should choose to proceed with their erotic pursuit or basic need.  
  
And Deer Shang is trapped in one of those moments where she is not sure if she should let King continue to lick her body like some sort of a desperate dog or to take a bath she so desperately needs.  
  
They have been to Law’s clinic where the pale, sickly doctor has greeted them with a ‘ have you never heard of the concept safe word’ and ended with a meaningful debate on whether his medical fees can be repaid by Deer’s friendship and compassionate (if any).Law has reattached her fingers and tell her she needs to avoid water contact for the night. He also warned her not to have sex tonight, not for medical reasons but for reasons that as a downstair neighbour, he simply wants to have a night of sleep without sex noise as disruption.  
  
How the world has turned.  
  
And, ever a rascal, Deer asked King to help her undress as her fingers are not meant for unbuttoning. She can always ask her tentative servant Zhong for help, but tonight she particularly wanted King to help her to do such a task. And King did: with her sitting on his lap, their face dangerously close to each other, his stumpy fingers slowly buttoning down her garment and removed the two thin strips of her laced negligee just by a slight hook. The pair of burgundy eyes, lustful and primitive, spotted a few pink kiss marks on her bare breast and lower back, and the giant simply lost control and decided to cover those marks with his very own.  
  
He pushed her closer as he buried his face on her skin, and he greedily lifted his mask slightly to taste every inch of her. A passionate kiss, a bite, he covered every mark of her, be those created by the Donquixote or Katakuri, and his kiss is so fiery that it even lightened the fire inside her loins. It is fun to watch King losing control of himself: the way his eyes fixated on her body and the puzzling way he looks at her, it all hints that he is in his delirium. His hand started touching the other parts of her soft body just like how she always fantasied, his movements rapid and desperate; both of their breath became more rapid as her lower region become moister, and he slipped one finger to feel it against the laced cloth. The sheer touch is enough to make Deer shiver, but he would never dare to insert anything inside her without her agreement.   
  
Deer was not very sure where his action is heading: it is of course erotic, but on the other Deer is incredibly tired. She would not say she was traumatised by the brief kidnapping, for she never deemed anything to be significant to create its own trauma, but she would much prefer to have sex after a shower or maybe a nap.   
  
' What now, King?' Deer asked as King was busy sniffing her neck.   
  
‘ You smell like another man.’ King mumbled, his hand and his kisses stopped.  
  
 _He is just like a_ _dog covering his scent all over my body.  
_  
‘ Then help me to take a bath so I can smell like you instead.’ Deer wrapped her legs around his waist as King stood up from the sofa, his hand carefully holding her bottom as he carries her to the mosaic floored washroom. Like a diligent soldier, he gently placed her in the warm water that Zhong prepared before taking off his leather suit and rolling up the dress shirts, his eyes cannot help but observe the Melusine in the water. He bathed her like an awkward giant, his hands trying to hold to ridiculously small sponge as he scrubbed on her body, he even tried to help her wash her hair -- suffices to say King is a surprisingly good masseur.   
  
‘ King.’ Deer whispered as she looked at the stain glass window opposite to the porcelain bathtub, her brain wandering to somewhere as her conversation leading to nowhere.  
  
‘ Huh?’King, looked down to meet with her gaze; he was half-amused by how her shiny hair looks after adding some foreign chemical known as ‘ conditioner’.  
  
‘ Why don’t we ever fuck?’She asked, her tone innocent, yet with her pale body partially exposed in the foamed water, it seems to be a lascivious inquest rather than a curious ponder.  
  
King squinted slightly as he attempted to control the bulge in his pants, his silence implies his unwillingness to answer the question.  
  
‘ Is it because you believe true love should wait?’ Deer smirked as she looked into his eyes. She finds his eyes handsome, in an elegant and mysterious sort of way, like some sort of Grecian poison tucked inside a Latin textbook, discovered by her and only her.  
  
‘ I have had sex before.’ King grunted as his hand ran through her silky hair.  
  
‘ What a bad boy.’ Deer japed. ‘ With who?'  
  
' Sadi, my ex-colleague from Impel Down.' King replied. 

' You like blondes?' She wondered. She has met with Sadi during her brief stint in Impel Down. The tall female guard was polite to her because Deer was under special custody, but seems to be comedically cruel to other inmates from Deer's limited observation. And that's all that Deer can remember -- a lovely girl with perishable impression.  
  
' No.' He paused. ' I like nice legs.'   
  
_That explains a lot._  
  
‘ I am sad to hear my legs are not nice enough.’ She said as she crossed her legs in the tub, the pair of lean calves, drizzled in the bubbly glitter, instantly attracted King’s flick of attention.  
  
‘ It is not that.’ He paused, then he confessed.‘ I will ruin you if we ever have sex.’  
  
‘ Because of your size or your strength?’ Deer tittered.‘Either way, I am incredibly turned on by the thought of you ever ruining me.’  
  
Not knowing what or how to respond, King awkwardly washed the foam off her hair. King is usually quiet, but there is some heavyweight attached to his quietness for tonight, and Deer tilted her head a little to meet with his eyes. She finds her thundering wit so amusing that King must be mad to miss with her flirt.  
  
‘ You seem pissed.’ Said her as her eyes observing his eyes like a detective. ‘ Why ?’  
  
‘ I am not pissed.’ King retorted.  
  
‘ Liar.’ She spilled some water to King’s face, and he continued to stare at her in his slightly disdained gaze.  
  
‘Brat.’ King retorted, but he finally gave in.‘ I am vexed because I should have planned better security measures.’  
  
‘ That was nothing -- I once woke up in Sacher in Viennoiserie surrounded by marzipan with my big toes missing. And the problem is not even about the missing toes; I simply have no idea how on earth did I get to Viennoiserie in the first place.’ Deer warbled as she looked at her newly attached fingers. The marzipan accident happened in one of those Oxtonian drinking society parties ( Deer was one of the proud members of the Gravestones). She ended up climbing through the church-like college dorm to steal back her toes from two suspicious Elbafian, with her neurology professor using her feet as a demonstration in a lower year reattachment class.  
  
Everything for free medical care.  
  
‘ Besides, you are King the wildfire, you have to stay emotionless and impenetrable. What you did is practical and necessary. I will not hold a grudge against you for doing what you ought to do.’She added. She understood King’s rationale at that time well, and she held no grudges for it. She suspects she would have a very different reaction if it were not King who was there, but it was King, and she trusts King.  
  
 _Oh, I trust King._  
  
Seems to be awed by her practicality, the red eyes beamed up and is secretly pleased by someone finally understanding his laconic mechanism.  
  
‘ You meant a lot to me, duchess.’ He said. It is most weird to hear King saying such a sentimental sentence to someone.  
  
‘ I know,’ Deer chuckled and grabbed on the mix of medicine like bath salt on the small table next to her bathtub. She deserves a good bath filled with all the orient medicines and petals. ‘you were very obvious.’  
  
‘ Call me when you get out of the bath, I will wait by the door.’ taking it as an indication of she needs private time, King stood and plan to leave the steamy bathroom, and Deer noticed there is a bulge in his tailored pants.  
  
That is very obvious as well.  
  
‘ Stay -- I tend to get bored when I take bath.’ Deer pulled his wrist, her eyes looked up at him. With her lashes wet, her skin glassy and lips baby pink, there is something oddly bewilderingly pure in her bathing look that King simply cannot resist.   
  
And so, as with the duchess request, King sat near the bench in front of the stain glass window. Surrounded by half-melted candles and half-read books, the stained glass was a leftover of the building's past; the estate agent said the toilet was a prayer room before the hospital was converted, and to honour its spirit, she sometimes prays for the stool when she goes to the loo. 

One must always honour history, after all.   
  
King sat at the edge as his hand dived into the warm water and picked up her feet, his hand rubbed the pale, almost bloodless part aimlessly. Sometimes King acts rather canine-like, as in he always seeks for Deer in a room, his body quietly lean against hers as he tries to discreetly gain her attention, every moment between them requires her to give him a bit of physical touch to ensure that her hearts is at his.  
  
‘ Who is the ex Doflamingo was talking about?’ King asked softly, finally revealing the one thing that was haunting King for the night.   
  
That, and the kiss marks on her body.  
  
‘His name is Smoker, civil servant number is 003156, he is working in Major Crime but was a G-4 special agent.He is the one that sent the pink-haired man to stalk me because I am on their watchlist.’ She pushed a wet strand of hair off her face.  
  
‘ I wanted to leave NCH-9 as soon as I know its nature, and I stupidly asked him for help. Instead, he locked me up in Impel Down and force overdosed me on NCH-9. I survived simply because I developed a very high toxin tolerance by getting high on poison. ’  
  
The habit of her radical pharmaceutical adventure actually developed during her time in Impel Down: As a toxicologist, she has struck an unlikely friendship with Magellan, where they will exchange on poison theory and get high by taking weird, novel poison compounds in his office every week. Magellan still remains as her loyal customer to this day, where Deer will send him a Christmas card attached with the latest daring invention, with Magellan replying in a 100 pages report detailing his review and reflection.  
  
‘ I tend not to dwell on this past because I do not want it to define me.’ She paused. ‘ I would love to say this unwanted misadventure radically turned me to who I am now, but really I was not the sanest person in the beginning. ’  
  
She was not sure if she wants to tell him everything, but decided to give it a try: if she can give try to an untested poison, surely she can try this untested way of opening up.  
  
‘ I am allowing you to know this part of my life because, well, see it as a consequence of those morphine Trafalgar injected or as a repayment of your rescue.’ She added, her lips broke into one of those sweet smiles she tends to pull on when she wants to get away with something.  
  
‘ Did you fall in love with him?’ the curious raven asked.  
  
‘ I’m not sure. But even if I did, there was no love left at the end.’ Deer shrugged.  
  
‘ Have you ever loved anyone?’ This time, the curious Kanoian asked.   
  
‘ Yes.’ King replied succinctly.  
  
‘ How do you know?’ Deer wondered.  
  
She never understands how does one knows whether they love someone; her mother used to ask her whether Deer love her, and Deer would only say yes because she is obliged to say that — the truth is, she suspects she has never loved anyone, not even herself.  
  
‘ I met you, then I realised I have never loved anyone before you. ’ He said, his eyes fixated on that one particular pale part of her skin, intentionally averting her eyes.  
  
 _I have never loved anyone before you._ Deer digested his sentence, _what a wonderfully similar thought.  
  
_ And also an unnecessary way to avoid sentences as simple as I love you. _  
_  
‘ I was having sex with someone pre the pathetic kidnapping.’ She confessed, and King instantly looks slightly saddened (lashes long and covering the dazzling gems). She does not know why she feels dreadful over his reaction, but she nonetheless accepted this stupid vulnerability that this so-called _love_ brings her.  
  
‘ But halfway through I figured I perhaps love you, in my very own way.’ She swallowed the little saliva in her mouth. ‘ So I stopped it.’  
  
King perked as he meets with her eyes, he seems to have given up on suppressing the fact that Deer Shang basically dictates his happiness at this point.  
  
‘ I don't know how to love anyone in a normal way. I never know the conventional concept of love: the most normal person I have dated is a nun called Tabitha, and she is a nun.’ She bites her lips as she tries to put her thoughts into eloquent sentences. It is often awkward for one to express their own thoughts. ‘ I must say it is rather ugly to be in love with me.’  
  
‘ How?’ King wondered, his hand holding her feet in his warm palm.  
  
‘Drug-addled, vile, filled with hysteria and despair, never quite handled my personality or anything especially well.’ She listed out all the flaws she hides from the prying eyes. The list is endless and yet the time is limited. ‘ And on top of that the Gulwaigaya has the hereditary habit of going insane beyond thirty — it comes with our pleasant feature and brilliant mind, sort of like a curse, but much better than a curse safe by something as vague as true love kiss.’  
  
‘I love them as well.’ King uttered, his eyes looking at Deer in a way that can almost melt her.   
  
‘ You must be mad.’ She cracked into an uncontrollable smile.  
  
With his obsession and her destruction, Deer suspect they will only turn ablaze. She knows that people like her are not meant to exist in a long run: they dazzle, they bewitch, and then soon as the night is gone, they perish along with the sparkly dome.   
  
‘ I have my own problems, duchess.’ He said matter of factly.  
  
' Enlighten me.' she declared as she pushed a stubborn hair off her face, her eyes looking at King.  
  
 _He is so pretty. And it is so amazing that he does not even know he is pretty._  
  
' I am allergic to nuts.' He confessed, and Deer chuckled. She cannot quite imagine King being allergic to anything, nor does she sees nut allergy as a problem to any relationship.   
  
' I do not know how to express my emotions, I have never had a home...' King paused for a while, ' I am not articulated enough to put the rest on a list.’  
  
' One being the inability to list.' Deer readjusted her neck on the Liberty cashmere bath pillow, _another one being madly in love with me._  
  
' Those are not problems, King.' She followed with a soft sigh, ' problems cannot be this lovely.'   
  
' Then the same applies to what you just said about yourself.' King replied, and Deer's nose instantly turned sour. She did not know why she tends to cry at tender moments like this, but she supposes one can never quite understand their own mind. Ghe truthfulness and stupidity within King's statement somehow made Deer felt vulnerable and warm simultaneously.   
  
Perhaps that is what others call as love, or obsession, or infatuation, and at this point, she just lacks the ability to distinguish them. She only knows that regardless of what people might call the _thing_ between King and her, she would like to give it a try before she disappears or gets back into her hedonistic life of drugs, antiques, and meaningless things.   
  
_One last try for the very first time._  
  
' I cannot guarantee a happy ending, King. I am not a massage parlor.’ She let out of an irrepressible laugh, with King replying in one of his judgemental squints.  
  
‘ We have never kissed either.’ She said. ‘ Is it because you also do not support pre-marital kissing?’  
  
Like a well-trained canine, King took that as a signal of the duchess requires a kiss and leaned his face towards Deer. Rather than leaning her face in, however, she placed her feet on his jaw, her legs pushed his lips away. The pair of red eyes widened as he wrapped his hand around her calves, a flick of lust mix with happiness displayed in those vermillion dots. His face, dignified and mystified, leaned into the sculpted curve and pushed his lips against her feet to seal his devotion.  
  
He kissed her toes, her sole, and her soul.   
  
‘ Pervert.’ She said. There is something quite elegant even in the way he expresses his deepest fetish.   
  
‘ Your pervert.’ He clarified, and an audible chuckle came out from the devil’s breathe.   
  
' Always?' She wondered.   
  
' For as long as you want.' He reassured.   
  
' Even when I am no longer yours?' asked Deer.   
  
' Even if you will never be mine.' answered King.   
  
And with the nightlight peering through the stained glass, their bodies are covered in a kaleidoscopic mess of pink, burnt orange, and turquoise, the time stopped for a very fragile moment. That is when they realised they are in love, calamitously and haplessly, and it is the beginning and the end of everything. 

  
  
_END  
_ ⭒

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fanfiction - I have never expected it to receive so many likes and even bookmarks (!), love you you perv (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖).
> 
> I have started this project because I am at a point in my life where I have to give up on my passion for writing to seek other pursuits in life. As I have never written fiction in English before, I am glad you read through my awkward sentences and grammatically horrifying sentences. I chose to write about King because I just find something very handsome about him, and I am disappointed to see there are no appreciation post about my favorite boi. 
> 
> Things I think are interesting but some might find boring:  
>  I constructed the female character and her family based on some of the Chinese historical anecdotes that I found funny :
> 
> (1) Her surname 'Gulwaigaya' is an actual aristocratic family during the Qing dynasty; famous for producing beauties apparently. 
> 
> (2) Her name 'Deer' is inspired by a princess called ' Der-ling'. I thought Derling sounds so close to Darling (someone must have made a pun on it), so I kind of twisted it to Deer as in Dear.
> 
> (3) I based her family on this very fascinating dynasty known as Northern Qi. Northern Qi royalty is really brilliant -- think handsome and clever -- but all go cray after 30 years old. ALSO their last empress became a prostitute after she retired from the throne, for real ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Dowager_Hu_(Northern_Qi) )   
>    
> (4) Zhong is based on a mythical creature called Jiangshi (i.e. Zombie). But I don't think he is very related to the story so I did not dwell on it.
> 
> Some thoughts on the ending:   
> I let it stop here because I NEVER liked ending where one gets married and have a bunch of kids (life does not just end there), and I don't think they will have a good ending in a long run, so I made this story stop at this seemingly hopeful moment. I think what they will have is a doomed kind of romance? Idk, never a romantic person but more of a tender storyteller. 
> 
> Deer did change for the better, very subtly -- in Chapter 2 she still tries to get high on drug and recklessly chase for poison, then in Chapter 4 she started goes for softer party drugs, with Chapter 5 turning into a simple cigarette with no poison and the last Chapter with no drugs or cigarette at sight. I try to write it in subtly without being too in your face haha. 
> 
> And King, given he is an enigma I cannot write him as I do with my character, but I did make him more compassionate and just more humanly as the story progresses. I think King's issue would be being obsessive, but given the manga has not revealed much, I cannot write too much on his background etc.
> 
> That said, I think Katkauri would be a better fit for her than King. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Some thoughts about Katakuri: 
> 
> Why did you write Katakuri in just one chapter? I just want to write a weird fetish for him
> 
> Why did you tag Katakuri if hE iS oNlY iN oNe ChAPtEr? F o r d e m v i e w s 
> 
> But what is gonna happen to KatAkUrI? Probably gonna move on, marry someone for political alliance, but marriage not gonna be happy if the bride does not take mummy fetish well ( IF a near fifty years old is so insecure about his face AND has a controlling mum, he ain't gonna be the alpha male with dominating big brother vibe) 
> 
> With that, I must get on with my life - as my favorite song always said, Ciao Bella !


End file.
